XN000022-1985-12-02 — Page 9

MONDAY, DECEMBER 2, 1985:

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MORE WELL-TRAINED ACCOUNTANTS NEEDED

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MORE QUALIFIED ACCOUNTANTS AND ACCOUNTING STAFF AT SUPERVISORY LEVEL ARE REQUIRED TO MEET THE GROWING NEEDS IN ACCOUNTANCY FIRMS AND THE COMMERCE AND SERVICES SECTOR IN THE YEARS TO COME, ACCORDING TO A VOCATIONAL TRAINING COUNCIL SURVEY REPORT.

FINDINGS IN THE 1984 MANPOWER SURVEY REPORT ON ACCOUNTANCY ALSO SHOWED THAT THE ACCOUNTANCY MANPOWER ENGAGED IN THE SURVEYED PROFESSIONAL AND ECONOMIC SECTORS HAD A 20 PER CENT GROWTH AS COMPARED WITH THE RESULTS OBTAINED IN 1982.

BASED ON THE FINDINGS, THE ACCOUNTANCY TRAINING BOARD OF THE COUNCIL FORECAST THAT THE ACCOUNTANCY WORKFORCE OF THE FOUR SURVEYED GROUPS - ACCOUNTANCY FIRMS, GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS, COMMERCE AND SERVICES SECTOR AND INDUSTRY - WOULD GROW BY FIVE PER CENT FOR 1985 AND THREE PER CENT FOR 1986.

COMPARISON OF DATA COLLECTED IN THE SURVEYS OF 1982 AND 1984 SHOWED A SUBSTANTIAL GROWTH OF MANAGERIAL POSTS IN COMMERCE AND SERVICES SECTOR AND ACCOUNTANCY FIRMS IN THE LAST TWO YEARS.

THE NUMBER OF MANAGERIAL POSTS INCREASED BY 74 PER CENT IN THE COMMERCE AND SERVICES SECTOR AND 47 PER CENT FOR THE ACCOUNTANCY GROUP WHILE SUPERVISORY POSTS IN ACCOUNTANCY FIRMS RECORDED AN INCREASE OF 35 PER CENT OVER THAT OF 1982, THE REPORT SAID,

THUS, THE TRAINING BOARD CALLED ON EDUCATIONAL AND TRAINING INSTITUTIONS CONCERNED TO TRAIN MORE QUALIFIED ACCOUNTANTS AND THE IR ASSISTANTS TO COPE WITH THE MANPOWER NEEDS, A SPOKESMAN FOR THE BOARD SAID.

THE REPORT SAID ACCOUNTANCY FIRMS HAD HIGHER PERCENTAGE OF VACANCIES AND STAFF TURNOVER RATE THAN THE THREE OTHER SURVEYED GROUPS.

THE SPOKESMAN SAID IT WAS MOST LIKELY THAT WELL-TRAINED SUPERVISORS AND MANAGERS IN ACCOUNTANCY FIRMS WERE BEING LURED AWAY BY COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL GROUPS WHERE THERE WAS A SHORTAGE OF STAFF AT MANAGERIAL LEVEL WHO COULD BE PROMOTED FROM WITHIN.

THIS PHENOMENON MIGHT ALSO REFLECT THE INABILITY OF MANY ESTABLISHMENTS, ESPECIALLY THOSE IN THE COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL SECTORS, TO TRAIN THEIR OWN STAFF FOR MANAGERIAL POSITIONS.

TO HELP UPGRADE THE QUALITY OF THE WORKFORCE, THE TRAINING BOARD HAD PLANS TO PROMOTE AND ORGANISE SUITABLE COURSES FOR SERVING STAFF IN THE ACCOUNTANCY FIELDS, THE SPOKESMAN SAID.

/THE SURVEY

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