Obtaining financial literacy is one of the most important things we can do as individuals, equipping us with the knowledge and skills we need to manage money effectively and ensure prolonged financial stability. We speak to Taher Kapasi, Regional Education Manager – Middle East at ACCA, to gain further insight on this vital subject.
EDUAE: You have stated that you believe that financial literacy is a skill that every individual should possess, regardless of their profession. However, it is a skill that many people shy away from; how do you go about making this more of an attractive proposition?
Taher: Financial literacy is so key, and to be financially literate, means you know how to manage your money. Whether this is paying bills, saving, investing for a brighter future through to borrowing and knowing how to borrow responsibly. As humans, we constantly keep making financial decisions in our daily lives from the moment we gain some semblance of independence, like the choice between going to the movies or buying a book or the parent’s favourite, ‘save now for a bigger spend later’. We subconsciously tend to use our limited knowledge to make these real-life and often life-changing choices. This is precisely why ACCA and I are working hard to demonstrate the importance of financial literacy by ensuring free and open access to the basics such as foundations in bookkeeping using the ACCA-X platform, which helps people to understand the value of making the right financial decisions. This is not just in their personal lives, but also their academic and professional lives through real-life examples, whilst demonstrating the profession’s attractiveness to the current and next generation of budding professionals.
Current maths courses are seen by students as too abstract and lacking in relevance, leaving them unprepared for the world of work
In our region, many parents shy away from financial discussions with their children. Stigmas such as ‘budgets mean poor’ and the need to budget bring home a realisation of limited funds. Pride is a big problem, too: I know how to manage, and I don’t need a budget. But the process of budgeting is a simple way of protecting your future. In many cases, financial literacy is a taboo subject simply because people don’t know where and what to start with!
Being the leading professional qualification body, we at ACCA are breaking down the barriers of financial literacy by engaging the younger generation with a fun approach to learning. We create awareness around financial literacy via gamification, which is fun and often incentivised, which means not only are we keeping youngsters engaged, we are rewarding their learning with competition and prizes. Aside from the awareness, this also allows us to nurture the younger generation towards better financial decision-making, leading to shaping the future of the profession.
ACCA students and members become the heart of any organisation with the unique ability to work in an all-inclusive role that functions across the entire organisation and maintains the company’s wellbeing
EDUAE: You are responsible for establishing and nurturing key relationships with educational institutions and ensuring existing students are supported through their qualifications journey. But why do you think that people choose ACCA – what is its offer?
Taher: When studying with ACCA, it’s more than just the numbers. We prepare students with practical examples that allow them to confidentially apply the theory into the real-life workplace immediately. ACCA focuses on commercial acumen, professional and technical skill sets alongside teaching the fundamentals of ethical accounting. The flexibility and the rigour of the qualification help us shape well-rounded business professionals.
With the ACCA qualification, we ensure that ACCA accountants become the communicators of the future and enter a career path that is in demand and almost recession-proof. They also have the freedom to move between industries and even become their own boss as the industry embraces an entrepreneur mindset. In addition to this, ACCA members are not simply ‘accountants’ anymore. They hold highly regarded roles such as CEO, Board Member, Data Analyst, Auditor, Tax officer even Risk and Cyber Security managers. ACCA students and members become the heart of any organisation with the unique ability to work in an all-inclusive role that functions across the entire organisation and maintains the company’s wellbeing.
ACCA ensures their students and members are continuously learning, keeping their skillset up to date and constantly working to advance their career path, their professional status and recognition within the region.
EDUAE: The Covid-19 pandemic has ‘changed the game’ for everyone, but nowhere more so than in the education sector. How do you see the future panning out as regards study and exams – how will things change and evolve, and what are the positive aspects of all of this?
Taher: As Covid-19 unfolded last year, so did a range of unprecedented social isolation, lockdowns and safety measures; barely any aspect of daily life was left unaffected. When schools and universities worldwide were forced to close their doors to prevent its spread, alternative methods and technologies had to be adopted almost overnight. Online learning became an urgent necessity rather than an option. Undoubtedly the education sector was heading in that direction. However, the pandemic helped accelerate its speed. Digital capabilities will be a crucial differentiator from now on when making education-related decisions.
Digital capabilities will be a crucial differentiator from now on when making education-related decisions.
The element of flexibility will take the front seat, not just in learning preferences and imparting knowledge but also in the style of assessments. This will be key for educational institutions, with the rise in concepts such as remotely invigilated exams and alternative assessment techniques.
Learning preferences will undoubtedly evolve with enhancements to digital technologies. Future learners will demand more bite-sized specialised learning, leading to short micro-credential programmes that offer instant badging and recognition. The future of education is certainly going to be very interesting as we go through this exciting evolution.
EDUAE: Maths, as they say, is the language of the universe, but do you think maths and accounting skills will become even more important in the digital age? If so, why and how can today’s students meet this challenge?
Taher: The digital revolution has brought unprecedented, previously inconceivable changes to the way we do business; indeed, the very way we live our lives. There is growing recognition that ‘pure maths’ as it is currently taught in Higher Technical Education globally is no longer fit for purpose. Current maths courses are seen by students as too abstract and lacking in relevance, leaving them unprepared for the world of work.
To be financially literate, means you know how to manage your money
With computers more able and more efficient when it comes to complex calculations and modelling, there’s far less need these days for human beings capable of doing the same thing. Advanced maths skills are no longer something that employers search for in their recruits within the accounting and Finance sphere. What they are looking for instead is someone who can bridge the gap between computer and decision-maker. Someone who can interface with a machine to give it the right inputs and get the right outputs and can then analyse, interpret, and verify these outputs and communicate them onwards.
Therefore this leads nicely into my earlier point around the growing importance of financial literacy amongst young students in this day and age. The more they immerse themselves in knowing how businesses and organisations work shaping the global economy, the better they can build future career opportunities.
EDUAE: Do you see financial literacy as a ‘talent’ like playing the piano or doing the pole vault, or is it something everyone can learn to a relatively high level, and, as with the two examples, is it best to start at a young age?
Taher: Basic financial literacy should be looked at as a necessity, not as a nice to have. By embedding financial literacy at an early age, you are giving the next generation a head start as it gives them the ability to learn the process of how to analyse and make the best decision based on needs, which can then be applied both in personal and professional life whatever career path they choose! In short, embedding financial literacy early on will stand a person in good stead throughout his/her life.
Whatever the profession, be it doctor or engineer, as an individual climbs the career ladder, there will always come a time where they need to understand how these financial statements work and what is behind the numbers they see on the documents and reports indicating an organisations performance.
EDUAE: When it comes to ACCA, what are you most proud of?
Taher: Being an ACCA member. I’m proud of how the organisation continues making strides in shaping the Global Accounting and Finance profession. Change begins with us, and as an organisation, we are proud to have made some remarkable changes over the years, whether that is to do with changing and constantly updating our syllabus to keep it relevant and forward-looking or making changes to our exams.
Basic financial literacy should be looked at as a necessity, not as a nice to have
EDUAE: Why are you passionate about what you do?
Taher: What excites me about my role is being a source of guidance to future professionals, helping them make better decisions by sharing my personal story and journey. I’m driven by making a difference in our community and assisting people in shaping their lives for the better. Learning my life lessons the hard way, I take every opportunity to educate people on the importance of making the right and informed decisions to achieve their career goals consistently.
EDUAE: What are you most excited about at present?
Taher: Within the realm of my professional life, I am most excited to see how the future of education evolves as we have experienced and explored several possibilities emerging from the challenges of the pandemic, which has helped conceive equal relevant opportunities.
It will be interesting to see how educational institutions swiftly adapt to the changing expectations and pressing needs of future learners in an era where digitalisation and growing technology challenge norms, disrupt practices and enable major trends.