The University of Macau and CPA Australia have announced that the accounting program offered by the Faculty of Business Administration of the University of Macau is now accredited by CPA Australia. The accreditation will enable UM graduates of the accounting program to be eligible to apply for Associate membership of CPA Australia and join the internationally respected CPA Program.

Mr Paul Meiklejohn, President of CPA Australia and Professor Gabriel Donleavy, Dean of the Faculty of Business Administration, University of Macau have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) documenting the accreditation.

CPA Australia will offer CPA Program scholarships to graduates of the Bachelor of Business Administration (Accounting) program and a number of CPA Australia Macau Excellence Awards will be offered to students in the BBA (Accounting) program whose performance in their studies are of sufficient merit. In addition, CPA Australia will also organise career talks and workshops for students and graduates.

Mr Meiklejohn said “We believe that such initiatives will further enhance and promote the mutual development of the accountancy profession among students and graduates of University of Macau. The combination of local and Australian accounting knowledge will broaden the leadership qualities, vision and understanding of western business and professional practices of the accounting graduates.”

Professor Gabriel Donleavy said, he is grateful to CPA Australia for its generous, timely and welcome support of the accounting program and accountancy students in the University of Macau. This accreditation, for sure, opens new opportunities for UM students and is a strong recognition of UM’s accounting program. It also signifies CPA Australia’s commitment to working with UM in training accounting professionals and further driving the development of the local accounting industry.

CPA Australia has been committed to the Mainland market for many years. It set up an office in Hong Kong in 1985 to cater for the needs of local members and opened its Beijing and Shanghai offices in 2002 and 2006 respectively. Together with a liaison presence in Guangzhou and Macau, the offices provide services and support to 9,500 members in the region.

Recognising the high quality of accounting graduates in Macau and their interest in gaining international accounting knowledge, CPA Australia has been working with universities in Macau to enable graduates to pursue the Australian CPA designation.

Mr Meiklejohn said, “With the rapid economic development of the Mainland market, the implementation of the new Chinese Accounting Standards in the Mainland, and the tremendous growth of the tourism and entertainment industry in Macau, we foresee a great demand for professional accountants in the Greater China region. CPA Australia will work closely with the Chinese government and the Macau SAR government, accounting professionals and academia to further enhance the development of the accounting profession in Macau.”