Focus Magazine

THE ACCA NEPAL NEWSLETTER ISSUE 7 JULY JUL Y - SEPTEMBER 2008 f resurgent tourism in nepal focus positivetrendontourisminnepal Tourism industry reaches into the varied aspectsofNepaleselifeanditbenefitsdiverse sectors directly and indirectly. It generates employment opportunities and helps in the promotionandconservationofartandculture of the country. The tourism industry is one of the major foreign currency earners in the country and thus makes a significant contributiontotheeconomy. Nepal has once again come to the limelight in the world following the success of the historic April 10, 2008 elections to the Constituency Assembly (CA). After the establishment of peace and stability in the country, the tourist arrival has showed a positive trend as arrival of the tourists via air route increased by a whopping 79 percent in 2008 according to Nepal Tourism Board (NTB). Accordingtotheinformationprovidedby NTB,highestnumberoftouristvisitingNepal was just below 500,000 before the start of conflict in the country. The record has been overtaken after the establishment of peace in the country. The growth rate is in increasing trend and the stakeholders are very positive with the future prospects of this industry. It isexpectedthattourismwillgrowbyleapsand 1 focus July - September 2008 Nepal news bounds with the establishment of political stability. ThebeginningoftheNewYear2008has heralded an optimistic tourism growth. The arrival of Indian tourists increased by 110 percent in 2008 as compared to the same period a year ago. Arrival of tourists from Asian continent grew by 137 percent during theperiod. European arrivals secured one-thirdmarket share during the month, with encouraging growth from major generating marketslikeUKby44percent,Franceby58 percent and Germany by 84 percent. The Australianmarkettooincreasedby33percent whileUSAregisteredasharpincrementof93 percent during April. Thepresentpolicyofthegovernmentand thepoliticalpartiesistogiveaverysignificant priority for the promotion of tourism in the country. The political parities have time and againgivenassurancetothestakeholdersthat one of the priorities of the government will be to support the tourism industry. The tourism board and the stakeholders are very hopeful thatthetourismindustrywhichwasbadlyhit during the conflict in the country for the last 10 years will again flourish. ACCA news ACCA elects Richard AitkenDebiesastheGlobalPresident ACCA appoints new Chief Executive Allen Blewitt receives a lifetime achievementaward ACCA elected Richard Aitken-Debies as Presidentatitsannualgeneralmeetingon15 May2008. MrAitken-Debiesbecameafellow of ACCA in 1980 and served on the Council since2000. HeisalsoachairmanofACCA’s Nominating and Financial Reporting Committees. Aitken-Davies is currently the non executive chairman of two companies, and possessesawealthofexperienceinpublicand privateindustries.HewastheChiefFinancial Officer for LG & E Energy Corp in the United States up until 2003; a Project Director at LondonandContinentalRailwaysfrom19968 and Privatisation Director - Railtrack plc from 1995-6. Prior to that Mr Aitken-Davies was Corporate FinanceDirectoratPowergen plcfrom1989-94. Mr BrendanMurtagh,apartnerinDublin accounting firm LHM Casy McGrath was elected Deputy President; and Mark Gold, Partner at London-based chartered certified practice Silver Levene, becomes VicePresident. HelenBrand,43,hasbeenappointedasthe new chief executive of ACCA. Currently the managing director of strategy and development at ACCA, she joined the global accountancybodyin1996.ShereplacesAllen Blewitt,witheffectfrom1September2008, who is leaving ACCA to return to Sydney, Australia,afterfiveyearsbasedattheLondon H. Q HelenBrandsaid:‘Iamtrulyhonouredto be appointed chief executive of ACCA and to build on the lasting contribution which Allen Blewitt has created for the profession. It’s to the credit of the organisation’s succession planningthatthenewCEOcouldberecruited from within its own ranks.’ OurveryownAllenBlewittwaspresented with a lifetime achievement award by PQ magazine on 25 February. The magazine is aimed at part qualified accountants and the editor’s letter read: ‘[Allen Blewitt’s] friendly approachhasundoubtedlyhelpedtocontinue ACCA’s astonishing growth and increasing prestige. Theawardsceremonywascomperedby award-winning comedian Stephen K Amos, who has appeared on popular UK television programmes. Allen received his award from RaviGill,FCCA,whoismanagingdirectorand founderoftheLondonCollegeofAccountancy (LCA)whichsponsoredtheaward. ACCAmembersbenefitfromdeal withGARP Members who work in the insurance and banking sectors stand to benefit from a new collaboration forged between ACCA and the Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP). GARPisknownthroughoutthefinancial riskmanagementcommunityassettingglobal standards and their Financial Risk Manager (FRM®) certification is internationally recognisedamongfinancialriskprofessionals worldwide as the qualification to possess. ACCAisasuperbrand! Another interesting example of our improvedreachandbrandprofileisthatACCA wasrecentlylistedasaBusinessSuperbrand in the recently published 2008 list. ACCA featuredat362,ahigherplacementthanCIMA (425th)andAccountancyAge(429th).ICAEW was not listed. July - September 2008 focus 2 ontargetin2007 ACCA’s global results for 2007 were as follows: • • • members:122,426 (6.1%increasedcomparedto2006) memberretention:97.9% students&affiliates:325,606 (10.0%increasecomparedto2006) Following the announcement Allen Blewitt commented internally: ‘These results are fantastic and I thank all of you for delivering such strong performance at a time of increased competition and against the background of introducing the new ACCA Qualification. We have responded to the challengeswefacedwitharealsenseofteam work and we can be very proud of our achievements.’ 3 ACCA news recognitionfortheACCAqualificationinIreland ACCA has been recognised as an official awarding body by the Irish educational regulatoryauthorities-HigherEducationand TrainingAwardsCouncil(HETAC). HETACconductedafullqualityassurance auditofACCA’sregistration,assessment,and information systems, and has assigned the ACCA Qualification to Level 9 of the Irish National Qualifications Framework (NQF). Level 9 holds Irish postgraduate qualifications,suchaspostgraduatediplomas andmastersdegrees. According to NQF literature ‘learning outcomes at this level relate to the demonstration of knowledge and understanding which is at the forefront of a fieldoflearning’,withemploymentoutcomes associated with senior professional and managementpositions. This recognition will bring numerous benefits to ACCA members and trainees in Ireland. Remuneration is often linked to professional qualifications in certain companies and institutions, and, for some ACCA members, Level 9 accreditation may result in a salary increase. In addition, ACCA students in Ireland may now be eligible to apply for certain student study grants-which aredependentonprogressionthroughtheNQF levels. ‘We are delighted that the ACCA Qualification has achieved Level 9 status withintheNationalQualificationsFramework,’ said Kevin Kernan, head of ACCA Ireland, commentingonACCA’srecentrecognition.‘By meeting the rigorous standards applied by NQAI, we are assuring our members and trainees that their qualification will be recognisedbothnationallyandinternationally asaqualificationofexcellence,transparency, and portability.’ focus July - September 2008 Current news educationexhibition student/affiliates - felicitation programme Nepalese Student Society organised a felicitationprogramtohonourJune/December 2007 highest scorers amongst the Nepalese ACCA and CAT students (globally) and affiliates. This program coincided with the Nepalese New Year. Mr Pratap P Pradhan (ACCA Nepal VoluntaryRepresentative)was the chief guest of the event. The student society members (Mr Biraj Pradhan, Vice President) Ms Riza KC (Treasurer), Mr Anil Panta(Member)highlightedabouttheroleof thesocietyandthechallengesaheadtomake it more functional for the benefit of the students. They urged that everyone should makeeffortstomotivatethestudentstowork forthebenefitofthestudents. MrPPPradhan distributed certificates to the highest scorers and the affiliates. He congratulated them for theirsuccessandwishedthemthebestintheir studies/career. He also thanked the student societymembersfororganizingtheevent. He hoped that they would organize such events in future. In the first half of the year, ACCA participatedintwoeducationexhibitions. The firstexhibition“EducationUK”wassponsored bytheBritishCouncil. ItwasheldinFebruary 2008. Ms Sarah Sim, International DevelopmentManger,camefromtheUKoffice to represent ACCA in this exhibition. The second exhibition, “6th Higher Education Exhibition”washeldinJune2008. Boththese exhibitionswereheldintheWorldTradeCentre at Tripureshore, Kathmandu. In each event, about400studentsandparentsvisitedACCA stall. The students were very enthusiastic to know about ACCA programme. They paid follow up visits at ACCA Nepal office to find outmoreaboutACCA. The award is named after Philip Houben who was the Mayor of Maastricht (’85-’02). Under his guidance Maastricht transformed from a sleepy country town into a leading European city with an international focus. Maastricht is the oldest city of Netherlands and it is also where the Treaty on European Union was signed in 1992. This created the EuropeanUnionandledtothecreationofthe Euro. MrHoubenhimselfwaspresenttohand over the award (see picture, first from the right). Timila is currently working for Nepal Rastra Bank as the Assistant Director in the Banks and Financial Institutions Regulation Department.Shewasadmittedasamember oftheAssociation,in2004. appointments awardsandachievements ICAN elects new president and vicepresident Mr Ranjan Dangol, ACCA, joined KPMG Qatar as an Executive Associate in Internal Audit Services department under KPMG assurancewing. MrTanka Prasad Paneru, FCA, has been elected as the new President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nepal. Vice President elect is Mr Subodh Kumar Karna, FCA. The tenure of their office will be for one year. Both of them are active members of the Instituteinpractice.ACCANepalwishesthem a very successful tenure. TimilaShresthawontheprestigiousPhilip HoubenAward2008.Theawardisgrantedto the best graduate of the academic year at Maastricht School of Management (MSM). The school is the largest international business school in Netherlands. Timila completedherMBAfromMSMthisyearunder a scholarship provided by Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs. MsKshityShrestha,joinedKPMGLaosas an Audit Senior. She was working with StandardCharteredBankinKathmandu. She moved to Laos along with her husband who gotajobwithanINGO. July - September 2008 focus 4 entryrequirementsforCAT qualification: This is ACCA’s vocational open-entry introductiontoaccounting.Applicantswhoare 16 years or older can complete ACCA’s CAT qualificationandwillbeeligiblefordirectentry toPart2ofACCA’sprofessionalexamination. Exemptions: Paper1onthebasisofAccountancyorBookkeeping or Principles of Accounts Exempt Paper 2 on the basis of Business Principles & Office Management or Business Studies or Business Organisation & Office Management(BOOM) CAT CAT syllabus: Introductory Introductory Level Paper1 RecordingFinancialTransactions Paper2 Information for Management Control Intermediate Level Paper3 MaintainingFinancialRecords Paper4 AccountingforCosts AdvancedLevel Paper5 ManagingPeopleandSystems Paper6 DraftingFinancialStatements Paper7 PlanningControlandPerformance Management Two options from Paper8 ImplementingAuditProcedures Paper9 PreparingTaxComputations Paper10 ManagingFinances 5 focus July - September 2008 learning center entryrequirementsforACCA qualification: ForentrytoACCA’sProfessionalQualification, youmustbeatleast18yearsoldandmeetat least one of the criteria below: Nepal/India · ProficiencyCertificate10+2(Passesin5 subjects including English and Mathematics/Accounts, mark of 65% in atleast2subjectsand50%oroverinthe othersinGrade12) 2yearscompletionofaBCOM/BBS/BBA Degree (from a recognized institution in anysubject) ACCAprofessionalqualification syllabus: Students will need to complete 14 papers in total. A maximum of nine papers in the Fundamentals level are available for exemption. FUNDAMENTALS FUNDAMENTALS (nine papers in total) F 1 F 2 F 3 AccountantinBusiness(AB) ManagementAccounting(MA) FinancialAccounting(FA) · · Skills F 4 F 5 F 6 F 7 F 8 F 9 CorporateandBusinessLaw(CL) PerformanceManagement(PM) Taxation (TX) FinancialReporting(FR) AuditandAssurance(AA) FinancialManagement(FM) Exemptions: Your previous qualifications may entitle you to exemptions from certain ACCA examinations.Thiswillensurethatyourpoint of entry is the most suitable for your level of knowledge and skills and will prevent you repeating areas with which you are already familiar with. Nepal/India 3 years BBS/BBA and MBA/MBS: ExemptfromFundamentalsF1,F2andF3. CAIndia: ExemptfromFundamentalsF1,F2 F3.F4,F6 andF8 PROFESSIONAL (five papers in total) Essentials P 1 P 2 P 3 ProfessionalAccountant(PA) CorporateReporting(CR) Business Analysis (BA) Options (two to be completed) P 4 P 5 P 6 P 7 AdvancedFinancialManagement(AFM) Advanced Performance Management (APM) AdvancedTaxation(ATX) AdvancedAuditandAssurance(AAA) learning center registrationdetails estimated cost TheestimatedcostsforcompletingACCAand CAT in Nepal are presented in Table 1. The costs shown in the table are indicative only. Sterling pound has been converted to NepaleseRupeesattherateof130toa£. want to register? YoucanapplytoregisterwithACCAanytime. However,therearetwoexaminationsessions per year, and in order to sit for a particular session, ACCA UK must receive your RegistrationFormbythefollowingdates: For June examinations Registerby31Decemberoftheprecedingyear. ForDecemberexaminations Registerby15Augustofthesameyear. necessary documents necessary for registration Students need to submit photocopy and originals of the documents listed in Table 2 for registration. ACCA Nepal will not be accountableforregistrationthroughanyother agencyinNepal. S.N. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Documents Initial Registration Form Bank Draft for registration in the name of ACCA Mark sheets/Transcripts (SLC onwards) EducationalCertificates(SLConwards) Passport size photo Birth certificate or Citizenship certificate or Passport No of Copies 1 2 2 2 2 2 Description RegistrationFee (one time) AnnualSubscriptionFee ExaminationFee ACCA Rs £4 6 3years@£64 3papers@£49 papers@£57 papers@£65 Rs1,000/ paper(approx) Tuition Fees (if necessary) Total Costs Cost for ONEYEAR Rs6,500/paper 91,000 258,100 86,033 8,320 24,960 105,820 £6 5 2years@£56 4papers@£36 5papers@£41 Rs600/ paper(approx) Rs5,500/paper 10,800 49,500 127,510 63,755 CAT CAT Rs 7,280 14,560 45,370 Booksand RevisionKits 28,000 tuition providers listed in ACCA website InstitutionName BMJobs Centre of Professional Studies (COPROS) Certified Chartered Academy INCAPVTLtd KathmanduAcademy National College of Accountancy (NCA) St James College Address Jwagal,Kupondole,Lalitpur, NewBaneshwar,Kathmandu Putalisadak, Kathmandu NexttoShankerDevCampusKathmandu NarayanChour,Naxal,Kathmandu NewPlaza,Putalisadak,Kathmandu Putalisadak,Kathmandu Phone 5276 533 4824 712 4493 201 2034 028 4125 403 4292 443 6241 249 E-mail acca@bm.com.np copros@wlink.com.np cca.nepal@gmail.com inca_nepal@hotmail.com acca@ktm.edu.np nca@ntc.net.np study@accamail.com July - September 2008 focus 6 www.ktm.edu.np www.nca.edu.np www.inca.edu.np Website www.bm.com.np/acca highestscorersandaffiliates December2007exam affiliates 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 0 1 1 1 2 1 3 1 4 1 5 1 6 1 7 1 8 1 9 2 0 2 1 2 2 2 3 2 4 2 5 2 6 2 7 2 8 2 9 3 0 3 1 3 2 3 3 3 4 3 5 3 6 3 7 3 8 3 9 MsPritiRajbhandari MrDipendraSubedi MrSagunTamrakar MrManishPyakurel Ms Shree Prapti Tiwari Ms Sushila Adhikari MsSajwaniRana Mr Mridul Parajuli MsDharanaNepal MsSaraPradhan Mr Suresh Krishna Shrestha MsGlorinaSingh MrParameshSimkhada MrRajuPaudel MrRamHariThapa MrAmirKarmacharya MrGokulRajSharma MsTapanaPrasain MrPrabeshSapkota MrSamirJungThapa MrSanjayKumarShah MrBibekPanta MrSanendraMali MrUmeshSharma MrSumanKoirala MrSumanKharel MrAkeshDhakal MrBhupeshKayastha MsSangitaKhatri MrKushalRajTuladhar MrKrishnaPrasadDahal MrDipendraNeupane MsAnishaUpreti MsAvilashaKhanal MrSandeepShrestha MsSanjuShrestha MsPoojaDhungel MsMeenaThapa MrBinodGoyal Australia Australia Nepal Nepal Nepal Nepal Nepal Nepal Nepal Nepal Nepal Nepal Nepal Nepal U K U K U K U K U K U K U K U K U K U K U K U K U K U K U K U K U K U K U K U K U K U K U K U K USA highest scorer highestscorers ACCA 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 0 1 1 1 2 1 3 1 4 1 5 1 6 Name MsShrutiShrestha Mr Sushil Sagar Khanal Mr Sushil Sagar Khanal MrAmritRamudamu MrShivaNathMaharjan MsBuddhaLaxmiShrestha MrSanjayPradhan MrParameshSimkhada MsOjashwyShrestha Mr Suresh Krishna Shrestha MrRajeshBastola MsGlorinaSingh MrSamirJungThapa MsKanchanKalaKharel MrRanjeetKumarMahto Mr Pratap Parajuli Paper F 1 F 2 F 3 F 4 F 5 F 6 F 7 F 8 F 9 P 1 P 2 P 3 P 4 P 5 P 6 P 7 Variant EG N EG N INT EG N EG N U K INT INT EG N EG N INT EG N EG N EG N CYP INT CAT CAT 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 0 1 1 Name MrBinayKumarMahato MrRameshKathayat MrSechanDevkota Mr Imran Ali MsSheetalPandey MrAmitPajiyar MrSagarThapa MrSagarThapa MrYamSubarnaRai MsShrutiPun MsSwetaKharel Paper T 1 T 1 T 2 T 3 T 4 T 5 T 6 T 7 T 8 T 9 T0 1 Variant INT INT EG N INT EG N EG N INT EG N U K EG N EG N ACCANepalwouldliketosendoutourheartfeltandwarm Congratulations to all our successful students. Representative ACCA Nepal Representative Editor SamataPJoshi Publisher ACCANepal Cover Photo by AbinashPradhan Printer Modern Printing Press c/o PP Pradhan & Co. Chartered Accountants P .O.Box3242,Kathmandu T el:5551126,Fax:5532878 Email:pratap@ppp.wlink.com.np Web: www.accaglobal.com 7 focus July - September 2008