• Colombia leads the way in having the first IFRS training business accredited by ACCA
• ACCA’s crucial involvement in the implementation of international standards in Colombia has led to the Certificate in IFRS being offered in Spanish

Colombia’s Business & Legal Advisories Ltda. (BLA Ltda) signed a historic Memorandum of Understanding which has enabled the company to become Latin America’s first registered learning partner with ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants), the global body for professional accountants.

The Registered Learning Partner accreditation process requires tuition providers to meet a range of challenging performance targets, covering the institution’s overall management, and more specifically its course management and delivery.

The Registered Learning Partner accreditation recognises that BLA Ltda.’s training business meets global best practice benchmarks for tuition and support of the ACCA specialised certificates in International Financial Reporting Standards; International Financial Reporting Standards for SMEs; and International Audit in Spanish.

Fifty distinguished guests, who included business and industry leaders, representatives from the national government, educational institutions, plus professional accountants and university lecturers, were at the reception in the Radisson Hotel in Cali, where the accreditation was presented.

Edmundo Florez, Director of BLA Ltda. and Sandra Rios, General Manager of of BLA Ltda. posing with Toby Moseley, ACCA’s portfolio head of Latin America and Turkey and Maria Cotera, BLA’s Research & Engagement Manager, Latin America & Turkey and their Registered Learning Partner accreditation certificate.

Toby Moseley, ACCA’s portfolio head of Latin America and Turkey, who presented the accreditation on behalf of ACCA, said: “ACCA are pioneers in incorporating IFRS into the ACCA syllabus. We have also translated our specialised IFRS certificates into Spanish to meet the needs for training and certification on IFRS in Colombia and its neighbours in the continent. Through our relationship with BLA Ltda., ACCA is directly supporting the awareness, understanding and implementation of IFRS in Colombia.

“BLA Ltda. now joins a select group of learning providers around the world who contribute to the important work of creating the finance professionals of tomorrow.

“It’s an exciting development for ACCA in Latin America and we are pleased to be working with BLA Ltda. to strengthen the accountancy and wider finance profession here.”

BLA Ltda. is a Colombian company with over 13 years of experience in the consultancy business and ten years of experience providing finance and accounting training to their clients, including lecturing at universities. BLA Ltda. has participated in over 500 conferences and workshops raising awareness of the International Financial Reporting Standards in Colombia and neighbouring countries.

Edmundo Florez, Director of BLA Ltda. said: “We are delighted about our partnership with ACCA, and immensely proud of the fact that Business & Legal Advisories, BLA Ltda., is the first IFRS training business in Latin America accredited by ACCA for the high quality of tuition and support we provide to those wishing to learn IFRS in Spanish and get their knowledge certified by ACCA. BLA Ltda. aims to continue strengthening our training offer with the support provided by this prestigious international organisation.”

BLA Ltda. has launched a portal with information about IFRS, which already has over 1,300 professionals registered. It provides open access lectures and training materials to anyone wanting to gain an understanding of the global standards.

For more information visit www.aprendeniif.com