skills2share

ACCA joins ActionAid in global war on poverty

A unique global partnership which will encourage young accountants to volunteer their skills to help tackle poverty was announced by ACCA and ActionAid, the leading international development agency, at ACCA's Annual General Meeting.

The ACCA skills2share initiative has been developed to benefit communities in which ACCA students and members live and work, by giving them the opportunity to use the skills they have gained for the wider public good. For example, ACCA students and members could help communities ensure that they are receiving aid and then using it properly, or assist local farming communities to negotiate better deals on crops. ACCA students and members will also be encouraged to support education initiatives and empower communities on financial issues.

ACCA chief executive, Allen Blewitt, who announced the initiative at ACCA's Annual General Meeting on 19 May 2005 said: 'This is ACCA's version of the Peace Corps. It will mean that our students and members, wherever they are, can work in conjunction with ActionAid on vital projects. This initiative will enable young people with financial knowledge that they have gained through their ACCA studies to make a major contribution to the wellbeing of their own communities by supporting official ActionAid projects.

'There are a number of benefits - potential donors can give aid to ActionAid projects in the knowledge that a qualified accountant who understands the needs of the local community will be volunteering their services to a reputable aid provider. For communities who receive the aid, they will have free expert advice on hand about the best way to use those resources, and our students and members will be able to gain valuable hands-on experience of dealing with important issues, which might otherwise be outside their working lives. We hope it will be a 'win-win' situation for all concerned.

'ACCA students and members will also be encouraged to share their skills with local schools and community projects - to demystify budgeting, taxation, banking, and investment. We want communities to be empowered to identify priorities and opportunities and to be in a position to negotiate better financial deals for themselves. After an initial pilot scheme we intend to extend the skills2share concept to other countries where ACCA operates,' he said.

David Archer, head of international education at ActionAid, said: 'Government education budgets are a mystery to most people - and so funding for education can easily be misused. Helping people to understand how the education budget is supposed to work, and tracking what happens in practice, from national to district to school level, is an increasingly important part of ActionAid's work.

'We are very excited at the partnership with ACCA - which will help us to build the capacity of more and more people to track and influence education budgets. Together we can help to ensure that public funding for education is properly, transparently, and effectively spent. On this basis we can be confident in asking the G8 and others to live up to their promises on radically increasing aid to education.'