ACCA’s Foundation Diploma awarded equivalence to HSSC Commerce in Pakistan

The news that it has become the first international professional accountancy body to have its entry level qualification officially recognised as being equivalent to a Higher Secondary School certificate has been welcomed by ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants).

In a notification issued on 24th February 2015, Inter Board Committee of Chairmen (IBCC) has announced that ACCA’s Foundation Diploma in Accountancy is now equivalent to Higher Secondary School Certificate (HSSC) Commerce group of Pakistan.

Following this announcement, the graduates of the ACCA Foundation Diploma, passed out of 2014 and onwards, will only be required to pass three additional examinations of Business Mathematics, Statistics and Principles of Economics from Board of Technical Education and concerned Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (in case of Baluchistan), after which they will become eligible to claim the intermediate equivalence certificate from IBCC.

Sajjeed Aslam, Head of ACCA Pakistan said: “We are delighted to have become the first international professional accounting body to have achieved IBCC equivalence on its foundation level qualification. We extend our thanks and appreciation to Mohammad Ramzan Achakzai, Secretary IBCC, all members of IBCC Forum and IBCC equivalence committee in providing their support during its rigorous and meritocratic process of evaluation and in awarding the equivalence to ACCA for its Foundation Diploma qualification.

ACCA works hard to ensure that its qualifications meet the needs of employers and that its students are ready for the world of work and the fact that it has passed IBCC’s rigorous assessment means that young people who pursue the course can be assured they will have a valuable and recognised qualification to their name.”   

Rehan Uddin, Head of Education, MENASA comments: “This recognition provides a huge opportunity to the youth of Pakistan with Secondary School Certificate / matriculation or GCE O level certificate, to start their career in accountancy, finance and management at an early age and build a strong foundation. These students will be able to pursue the ACCA Qualification, which itself is officially benchmarked as being equivalent to the UK Master’s Degree, after completing their Foundation Diploma and obtaining the HSSC Commerce certificate.”