Express yourself
How Cambridge ICFE can help you succeed
If you want to succeed as a finance professional, and have a career that will take you across borders, you will need more than just a good aptitude for numbers. Good communication is a skill required of everyone working in finance, and particularly the ability to communicate in English.
By choosing ACCA, you have already taken an important step in demonstrating your English-language ability. But how can you stand out from the crowd? Holding high-level conversations about financial and accounting matters in English requires not only a strong grasp of the general language, but also a good knowledge of specialist financial and accounting terminology and vocabulary. To really impress, employers will expect you to be proficient in all four skill areas - speaking, listening, reading, and writing - to be able to communicate professionally in any business situation.
According to research, up to a third of accountancy firms are dissatisfied with the communication skills of entry-level accountants. Feedback from ACCA examiners often cites lack of proficiency in the use of the English language as a reason for poor performance. This is doubly unfortunate, as globalisation, and the internationalisation of financial reporting standards, have both increased the need for English language skills among finance professionals across the world.
Access to top jobs
Employers in every sector are actively recruiting individuals who have excellent English. In particular, those who have strong financial English language skills stand out during the recruitment process as they are able to give their interpretation of financial information clearly and concisely. This will reassure an employer that a prospective new employee will make a good impression on clients or customers.
Cambridge International Certificate in Financial English (Cambridge ICFE)
ACCA recognises that it is important for finance professionals and ACCA students to demonstrate to employers that they have the financial English skills needed to succeed in the global business arena. So ACCA has combined its expertise with that of world-renowned Cambridge ESOL Examinations (English for Speakers of Other Languages) to develop a new qualification, the Cambridge International Certificate in Financial English (Cambridge ICFE).
Michael Milanovic, chief executive of Cambridge ESOL, comments: 'People working in an international finance context need high levels of English language skills and an understanding of the kind of language used in a demanding, fast-moving profession. This unique exam will help the ambitious to demonstrate their skills and suitability for a successful career in international finance.'
This is a message backed up by ACCA's chief executive Allen Blewitt: 'Developments such as the advent of International Financial Reporting Standards, together with the ever-increasing globalisation of finance and business, mean that accountancy is rapidly becoming one global profession.
'We are delighted to be working with a world-renowned institution such as Cambridge, and giving finance students and other people already working in the profession - whose first language is not English - the chance to improve their career prospects and international mobility by providing a test of their financial English skills, which has become the international language of finance. It will help employers operating in the international finance arena with the hiring and training of their employees, and universities with selection, placements, and graduation of students. It will also be highly relevant to those accountants and finance professionals around the world who have not achieved an English-language accounting qualification and who wish to enhance their skills in financial English.'
Cambridge ICFE is designed to assess the ability to understand spoken and written English in contexts finance professionals are likely to encounter in their daily working lives. Cambridge ICFE consists of four papers - reading, writing, listening, and speaking - providing a comprehensive approach to developing financial English language skills.
Studying towards Cambridge ICFE will help finance professionals develop a high level of financial English language skills and enable them to speak confidently in English at interviews and in business situations. For students who are already competent in English, the Cambridge ICFE award will provide validation of this ability from two leaders in international assessment whose qualifications are recognised around the world.
A practical approach
Successful students will be able to use the language skills they develop through Cambridge ICFE in practical situations, to participate in meetings and discussions of a financial nature, and to express opinions clearly. By passing the exam, students will be able to show their ability to understand financial documents including statements, journal articles, letters, reports, and proposals.
The qualification comprises four tests. The Test of Listening assesses the ability to understand spoken English in contexts such as presentations, lectures, news broadcasts, discussions, and interviews on finance-related issues. The Test of Speaking assesses the use of spoken English, including candidates' ability to respond to questions and express themselves coherently on finance-related topics using appropriate language. These tests are conducted by trained oral examiners.
The Tests of Reading and Writing assess the ability to understand written texts on international accounting and auditing standards, corporate documentation, financial reports and sets of financial accounts, and to write letters, reports, and proposals in an accountancy and finance context.
Like other Cambridge ESOL exams, this qualification tests real English in real contexts, not simply a range of vocabulary and grammatical structures. This means that successful performance in the exam demonstrates an ability to use English effectively, rather than evidence of good exam technique and an ability to pass exams.
Although the exam is a test of English language skills, it is set within the context of finance and accountancy. A number of topic areas will be covered including financial reporting, banking, auditing, corporate governance, cost and management accounting, and acquisitions and mergers, making it highly relevant to students' study and working environments.
Interested?
Cambridge ICFE will be examined twice a year, in May and November, and the first exam session will be held on 12 May 2007. Unlike ACCA exams, students who are interested in sitting Cambridge ICFE will need to register with an authorised Cambridge ICFE exam centre.
To find out more about Cambridge ICFE and to find your nearest exam centre, visit www.financialEnglish.org or e-mail ESOLhelpdesk@ucles.org.uk for further information.
From student accountant magazine