Productivity comes under the spotlight at first ACCA / Jenson Fisher Business Forum

Trade, talent and technology and their impact upon productivity were discussed at the first meeting of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) / Jenson Fisher Business Forum hosted by EQ Chartered Accountants in Dundee.

The inaugural event gathered together senior business leaders from across the city and Tayside to debate a series of topic areas.

Forum members - consisting of Partners and Directors from leading businesses - concluded that there needed to be a greater focus on productivity from the grass roots up and a greater focus by companies on increasing efficiency rather than simply reducing costs.

Head of ACCA Scotland, Craig Vickery, who chaired the debate, said: “The Scottish economy needs to out-perform the rest of the UK otherwise the overall Scottish budget will suffer as a result of the transfer of tax powers to Holyrood and consequential adjustments in the Treasury block grant. The UK, and Scotland, have a long way to go to improve productivity. Ensuring we have a skilled, motivated and efficient workforce has to be our number one priority.

“ACCA welcomes the increased focus on apprenticeships, vocational qualifications and work-based learning. Our recent research Professional Accountants – the Futureconducted with the assistance of over 2,000 professional accountants and 300 workshops, highlighted the need for finance leaders to widen their own skills. Technical excellence is a given but finance professionals need emotional, digital creative skills with the vision and creativity to deliver.”

Martin Crines, Partner of specialist financial recruitment firm Jenson Fisher, said: “Professional accountants have a crucial role in advising businesses across every sector and industry. Therefore it is important that they are equipped with the right blend of skills and experience to play a role in promoting growth and future-proofing business for the 21stcentury.

“In particular this means that the profession has to continue to work hard to promote a range of access routes for all backgrounds and career-long learning to ensure skills remain relevant. Partnering with ACCA on this forum offered a unique opportunity to openly discuss the needs of Scottish business and how professional bodies and the recruitment sectors can support them.”