Northern Ireland’s young accounting professionals are continuing to thrive and help towards rebalancing the economy according to Joan Ballantine, President of ACCA’s (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) Ulster Members’ Network.

Joan Ballantine was commenting in light of ACCA’s global professional accountancy exam results for 2012 where three local students were placed within the global top 20, including Naomi Mitchell who achieved 1st place in Ireland and 4th place worldwide in the P6 Advanced Taxation (UK variant) paper out of 6,393 students. Naomi also achieved 2nd place in Ireland and 14th in the world in the P7 – Advanced Audit and Assurance paper out of 15, 459 students globally.

Joan Ballantine said, “Our young accountants are playing a more important role than ever in helping to reshape the Northern Ireland economy and in providing the right dynamics to enable key growth areas of the economy to prosper.

“Now is the time for accounting professionals to educate the public and its stakeholders about what they can contribute to society and how they can generate real value. Our profession has an ability to tackle issues and consider the most appropriate solution, which is a vital attribute in aid of recovery and one that accountants can draw upon on a daily basis. 

“The outstanding ACCA results have once again highlighted the high calibre of students coming out of Northern Ireland, which is particularly encouraging for the profession. However, with more and more opportunities available for students to travel overseas due to the flexibility and adaptability of their qualifications, we must ensure we hold onto our talented young professionals.

“We want to remind the business community that we need to take a collaborative approach and that more work needs to be done to create opportunities for the new generation of young accountants. It is crucial that we continue to work together to nurture our students by providing essential support mechanisms and equip them with appropriate skills and training as they gain their professional qualifications”, concluded Joan.

Northern Ireland Student Results:

P6 - Advanced TaxationNaomi Mitchell – 1st in Ireland and 4th in the worldAisling Busby – 2nd in Ireland and 17th in the worldEmma Jayne Hunter – 3rd in Ireland and 19th in the world

P7 – Advanced Audit and AssuranceNaomi Mitchell – 2nd in Ireland and 14th in the world

For further information please contact Katrina Frazer or Claire Aiken on 028 9066 3000EndsNotes to Editors1. ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) is the global body for professional accountants. We aim to offer business-relevant, first-choice qualifications to people of application, ability and ambition around the world who seek a rewarding career in accountancy, finance and management.2. There are over 20,000 members and students in Ireland.3. We support our 154,000 members and 432,000 students in 170 countries, helping them to develop successful careers in accounting and business, with the skills required by employers. We work through a network of over 80 offices and centres and more than 8,400 Approved Employers worldwide, who provide high standards of employee learning and development. Through our public interest remit, we promote appropriate regulation of accounting and conduct relevant research to ensure accountancy continues to grow in reputation and influence.4. Founded in 1904, ACCA has consistently held unique core values: opportunity, diversity, innovation, integrity and accountability. We believe that accountants bring value to economies in all stages of development and seek to develop capacity in the profession and encourage the adoption of global standards. Our values are aligned to the needs of employers in all sectors and we ensure that through our qualifications, we prepare accountants for business. We seek to open up the profession to people of all backgrounds and remove artificial barriers, innovating our qualifications and delivery to meet the diverse needs of trainee professionals and their employers.