The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and the University of the West Indies (UWI) Global Campus have partnered to support accounting education, professional development and student progression across the Caribbean region.

The organisations formalised the arrangement through a memorandum of understanding.

The three-year agreement covers ACCA accreditation and programme exemptions, the creation of a dual-award route, professional accounting opportunities, and development initiatives for students and faculty.

The agreement also sets out plans to establish pathways between the Global Campus’ accounting programmes and the internationally recognised ACCA Qualification.

A central element of the partnership is the proposed alignment of the UWI Global Campus’ BSc Accounting curriculum with the ACCA’s global standards.

This is intended to support an application for ACCA accreditation and relevant programme exemptions for qualifying students.

The two institutions also plan to develop a dual-award route connecting the BSc Accounting programme with the ACCA’s Advanced Diploma in Accounting and Business.

The pathway would combine academic and professional study to support career development and mobility.

UWI Global Campus pro vice-chancellor and principal Francis O. Severin said: “This partnership with ACCA will blossom into excellent opportunities for our accounting degree students and alumni.

“We view this development as pivotal for our Campus and our students. It is truly an exciting time.”

At postgraduate level, the partnership will consider incorporating the ACCA’s Strategic Professional papers into the UWI Global Campus’ proposed MSc in Accounting programme.

Students will also be able to take part in selected ACCA events and hear from ACCA members about their professional careers.

Faculty will be invited to ACCA tutor-development sessions and technical events aimed at strengthening teaching and professional skills.

ACCA Caribbean head Paula Marcelle-Irish said: “ACCA is honoured to formalise this partnership with the UWI Global Campus, deepening our shared commitment to strengthening the accounting profession across the Caribbean.

“This collaboration creates a powerful bridge between academic excellence and professional achievement, opening new pathways for students to progress towards the ACCA Qualification and equipping the next generation of finance professionals with the skills and global perspective to shape the future of the region.”

CPA Australia has urged the Federal Government to publish the Board of Taxation’s Red Tape Reduction Review and establish clear commitments to lower the expense and administrative burden of the national tax framework.

A report was submitted to the government in June this year following consultations with more than 100 industry stakeholders and the receipt of 52 formal submissions.

However, the review’s conclusions and recommendations have not yet been made publicly available.

According to estimates by CPA Australia, meeting tax compliance obligations costs Australian taxpayers approximately A$60bn annually, representing roughly 2% of the country’s gross domestic product.

Small and medium-sized enterprises account for roughly A$31bn of these annual costs.

CPA Australia Tax lead Jenny Wong said: “Tax compliance is costing Australia around A$60bn a year. That is not a tax bill. It is the cost of navigating the system.

“Every hour a business spends filling in forms or repeatedly reporting the same information is an hour not spent serving customers, creating jobs and lifting productivity.

“Tax red tape has become a hidden tax on productivity, and small and medium businesses are paying the highest price.”

Wong noted that fulfilling the government’s stated objective to achieve “substantial, material and measurable” reductions in administrative red tape will depend on greater transparency and accountability.

The professional accounting body also called on the government to define a target to decrease overall tax compliance expenditure by 10%, which equates to an annual reduction of around A$6bn by 2030.

Furthermore, the organisation is urging the government to introduce cost-effective measures in the upcoming Federal Budget, prioritising changes to fringe benefits tax and the removal of duplicate filing requirements.

The School of Accountancy at Singapore Management University (SMU) has introduced an Applied Artificial Intelligence (AI) Track within its Master of Science in Accounting (MSA) degree programme.

The university stated that the pathway is structured to train accounting and finance professionals to integrate AI tools into operational processes, evaluate generated results, and implement governance structures and human supervision around its use.

The initiative comes amid shifts in daily finance and accounting functions driven by AI technologies.

Participants will receive hands-on training across several emerging technologies including generative AI, large language models, retrieval-augmented generation and agentic AI.

In addition to technical execution, the students will learn to gauge system reliability and constraints, oversee automated processes and set up operational safeguards.

The new offering expands upon the data and analytics framework already embedded within the wider MSA programme.

SMU School of Accountancy dean Zhang Liandong and professor of accounting Lee Kong Chian said: “We designed the Applied AI Track around how AI is entering accounting and finance work.

“The question is not simply whether a tool can perform a task, but whether professionals understand its limitations, can evaluate its output and know what controls are needed before relying on it.

“Students will therefore learn to apply emerging technologies such as Generative and Agentic AI within professional workflows, while retaining the professional judgement, human oversight and accountability that remain central to the profession.”

The Applied AI specialisation comprises four course units selected from five elective offerings.

They are Agentic AI for Accounting; AI Governance, Evaluation and Ethics; Modern AI Applications in Business; Blockchain and AI for Decentralised Intelligence; and an Innovation and Technology Capstone (SMU-X).

These subjects build on MSA’s core alongside foundational training in data management, forecasting, machine learning, programming, statistics and visual analytics.

Additionally, students can apply AI and digital analytics to live accounting and finance challenges through the SMU-X capstone, in collaboration with corporate partners.

Beyond operating tools, the curriculum emphasises the supervision and governance of automated systems across accounting, audit and assurance, financial analysis and finance transformation workflows.

Graduates will be trained to evaluate machine-generated outputs, identify flawed assumptions or errors and design human-in-the-loop review processes.

The coursework also prepares professionals to manage risks surrounding algorithmic bias, cybersecurity, data privacy, explainability, model validation and regulatory compliance.

The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) has introduced a set of six global principles aimed at strengthening resilience across the accountancy profession.

According to the organisation, its ‘Thriving Together: 6 Principles for a Resilient Accountancy Profession’ provides a practical framework designed to help organisations, managers and staff establish healthy and sustainable operating environments.

The framework reflects an increasing recognition across the market that individual well-being and professional competence reinforce one another.

The six principles urge the profession to facilitate rewarding career paths, integrate sustainable working methods, encourage balance through workload prioritisation and boundaries, and foster transparency and trust.

The guidance also highlights the requirement for leaders at every tier to model organisational culture and empower personnel.

The IFAC compiled the principles in partnership with the Global Public Policy Committee, human resources specialists, professional accountancy bodies, academic institutions and corporate accountants in small and medium-sized practices.

The provisions are structured to remain flexible and pragmatic, acknowledging that well-being requirements differ across various operational environments, jurisdictions and cultures.

Rather than mandating a single standard, the principles offer a shared baseline enabling organisations and individuals to evaluate their existing positions and determine areas for operational improvement.

To support implementation, the IFAC has established a digital hub compiling well-being tools and materials from across the international profession.

The organisation plans to expand these resources over time to assist with internal assessments, facilitate workplace discussions and support targeted practical improvements.

The US Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) has updated its standard-setting, research and rule-making agendas, outlining the board’s current priorities and incorporating feedback from stakeholders.

In a statement, the non-profit organisation said this was the “first time” it had sought public comment to help shape the agendas.

It said the approach reflects chairman Demetrios Logothetis’ intention to ensure “all perspectives are considered during standard-setting and research activities”.

Logothetis said: “Feedback from investors, auditors, academics and other stakeholders is critical for the PCAOB to fulfil our mission. In this case, it helped inform our updated standard-setting, research and rule-making agendas and assisted us in refining our priorities.

“Under these updated agendas, we will continue to focus our efforts on projects that are practical, responsive to today’s capital markets, and ultimately, advance audit quality and investor protection.”

The update also sets out upcoming work tied to standards, including the development of a conceptual framework for standard setting.

In June, the board issued its first request for public comment on standard setting. The revised agendas set priorities across standards development and implementation, research and rule-making.

On the standard-setting side, the board identified projects covering negative assurance related to comfort letter engagements, auditor independence, fraud, non-compliance with laws and regulations, and going concern.

Its research agenda includes data and technology, firm and engagement performance metrics, and communications with audit committees.

The rule-making agenda includes a project to create a permanent broker-dealer inspection programme.

The PCAOB is a non-profit corporation established by the US Congress to oversee audits of public companies.

Its role is aimed at protecting investors and supporting the preparation of informative, accurate and independent audit reports.

It also oversees audits of brokers and dealers registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including compliance reports filed under federal securities laws.

Accounting academics and industry leaders came together for the 2026 Southern African Accounting Association (SAAA) KwaZulu Natal Regional Conference.

Held under the theme ‘Accounting Horizons: Integrating Practice, Research and Education for a Changing World’, the conference examined where the accounting profession is headed and whether higher education is preparing graduates for its future demands.

The Durban University of Technology’s (DUT) Department of Auditing and Taxation, part of its Faculty of Accounting and Informatics (FAI), hosted the event in collaboration with the University of KwaZulu Natal, University of Zululand and Mangosuthu University of Technology.

The gathering provided emerging researchers with an opportunity to present their work, receive feedback, and engage with academics, professional bodies and industry partners.

Anne Soldat, deputy chairperson of the SAAA KwaZulu Natal Regional Committee, opened proceedings. She stressed the importance of a supportive environment for first-time presenters.

FAI deputy dean Professor Simangele Moyane delivered DUT’s welcome address. She spoke about how the accounting profession is changing and the role research plays in that shift.

She added: “The world of accounting is changing, and technology and artificial intelligence are changing the way we work. The question is whether we will lead that change or simply account for what has already changed.”

Finance and Accounting Services Sector Education and Training Authority chief financial officer Lebogang Matlala delivered the keynote address focusing on future readiness, professionalisation and transformation within the accounting and finance sector.

She pointed to automation, data analytics and AI as key forces reshaping accounting and auditing work.

Employers, she added, are now seeking broader skills from graduates than before. Matlala also called for stronger links between higher education and the workplace.