RIYADH: The Saudi Organization for Chartered and Professional Accountants has launched a new academic curriculum for universities to aid the development of the industry and better support its members.

Commerce Minister Majid Al-Qasabi, who chairs the SOCPA, said the government attached great importance to accounting and regarded it as an “essential component of the economy.”

He was speaking at an event to celebrate the achievements of 1,733 men and women who recently completed their professional qualifications. 

SOCPA CEO Dr. Ahmed Almeghames told Arab News that the new curriculum would help universities to produce graduates who are better suited to working in the accounting profession.

It will bridge the gap between education and the labor market, and provide students with the grounding they needed to succeed in their professional studies, he added.

Almeghames described the acquisition of professional credentials in accounting and auditing as “crucial in the labor market,” as that is what businesses and industries desire. 

At the awards ceremony he acknowledged the achievements of the attendees, including the recipients of the excellence award in the fellowship exam, the VAT certificate and accounting certificate.

The event also witnessed the signing of separate agreements between the SOCPA and the Social Development Bank and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development.

Each was designed “to support licensed accountants through funding programs and enable them to benefit from the self-employment program,” the SOCPA said.

According to its website, the professional body “aims to improve and contribute to the development of the practice of the profession while monitoring its performance quality … in serving the community and the national economy.”