A Memorandum of Concordat (MoC) has been signed by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants).

The strategic agreement seals a relationship where the two organisations have worked in partnership over several years on a number of initiatives - such as diversity, pensions, social responsible investment and climate change - which have generated impact among a range of stakeholders within academia and business.

Ewan Willars, Director of Policy at ACCA, says: “Our partnership is based on high quality research that strongly supports both knowledge exchange and impact to policy, business strategy and the wider accounting profession. We have already built a compelling case about the issue of diversity in global business, and we are looking to develop this important concern in the future.”

Adrian Alsop, Director of Research, Partnerships and International, ESRC says: “ESRC and ACCA will continue to collaborate, as appropriate, on seminars, workshops, reviews and consultations in relation to areas of common interest. Together, we share a commitment to encouraging independent, high quality research that informs and impacts business, the third and public sectors as well as governments.”

The concordat will be three years, commencing on the 1st of April 2013 and terminating on the 31st of March 2016. To support the delivery of the Concordat, each organisation will make a sum of £50,000 available, annually. This will be used, by mutual agreement, to sponsor joint initiatives, provide research grant funding, and internship programmes, as well as other activities, under the terms and spirit of the Concordat.

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For more information, please contact:

Helen Thompson, ACCA Newsroom

+44 (0)20 7059 5759

+44 (0)7725 498654

helen.thompson@accaglobal.com

Notes to Editors

1. ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) is the global body for professional accountants with 154,000 members and 432,000 students in 170 countries worldwide. We aim to offer business-relevant, first-choice qualifications to people of application, ability and ambition around the world who seek a rewarding career in accountancy, finance and management.
2. ACCA works through a network of over 80 offices and centres and more than 8,400 Approved Employers worldwide, who provide high standards of employee learning and development. Through our public interest remit, we promote appropriate regulation of accounting and conduct relevant research to ensure accountancy continues to grow in reputation and influence.
3. The Economic and Social Research Council is the UK's largest organisation for funding research on economic and social issues. It supports independent, high quality research which has an impact on business, the public sector and the third sector. The ESRC’s total budget for 2012/13 is £205 million. At any one time the ESRC supports over 4,000 researchers and postgraduate students in academic institutions and independent research institutes.