KARACHI (May 23, 2009) International Certificate in Financial English (ICFE), a product of ACCA and University of Cambridge – ESOL, will now be available to students and professionals of accounts, finance and business studies in Pakistan.
The course tuition is initially being offered by School of Business Studies (SBS), Karachi. SBS arranged a launch ceremony and orientation programme at a local hotel; the event was well received by accounting and finance students, professionals and senior officials from well reputed organisations.
Mr Khalid Rehman, CEO, Pakistan Petroleum Ltd (PPL) was chief guest of the ceremony, while Mr Najmul Islam Chaudhary, Board Member, Standard Chartered Bank Pakistan, Mr Shamez Mukhi, Head of Marketing, Communications and Media Relations, ACCA Pakistan and Mr Musharraf Zaman Khan, Executive Director, School of Business Studies (SBS) were the keynote speakers.
Speaking at the occasion, Mr Najmul Islam Chaudhary highlighted the importance of English language, terming it as “the lingua franca of a fast globalising world”. He said, “Until now, no specific English course existed in the country to master the peculiar vocabulary and jargons of finance and accounting, I am glad that ICFE has come forward to facilitate the business and finance community by helping them increase their lingual capacities”. He added “ICFE will enable finance students and professionals to interact globally confidently and with ease.”
Mr Shamez Mukhi, Head of Marketing, Communications and Media Relations, ACCA Pakistan, highlighted that Cambridge ICFE has multiple benefits as it not only improves student”s ability to perform well in exams but also augments business communication skills of finance professionals. He said Cambridge ESOL exams are recognized internationally by over 50 premium companies including PWC, World Bank, Nestle, HSBC and KPMG. He mentioned that British Council is the examination partner for ICFE, which further guarantees the credibility and integrity of this qualification.
Later, Ms Asma Zaidi, Head of English department, SBS briefed about the qualification, highlighting the global popularity of the course and said that ICFE will help professionals and students of finance, accountancy and business to improve their language proficiencies, for surviving and striving in the global market scenario. She also presented a detailed overview of the course structure, its modalities and relevance in the contemporary global market context.
The chief guest, Mr Khalid Rehman commented that “Cambridge ICFE will give a distinct advantage to finance and accounting professionals to advance in their careers.” He added, “I am glad to see that ICFE covers modules on risk assessment, mergers and acquisitions and financial reporting” all highly relevant to professional accountants, ICFE is a valuable addition to the portfolio of professional qualifications”. In the end, he congratulated SBS for pioneering ICFE tuitions in Pakistan.
