ACCA to work on developing BPO sector

Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) will work on developing the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector of Bangladesh in the short, mid and long terms. The announcement was given at a roundtable titled The Role of Professional Bodies to Help the BPO Sector to Thrive, organised by ACCA Bangladesh on February 6, 2017.

The programme was graced by the presence of Chief Guest Zunaid Ahmed Palak, State Minister of the ICT Division, and hosted by Towhid Hossain, Secretary General of Bangladesh Association of Call Centre & Outsourcing (BACCO). Panellists included Stuart Dunlop, ACCA Regional Director for Middle East North Africa South Asia (MENASA); Mohua Rashid, Country Manager of ACCA Bangladesh; Sami Ahmed, Component Team Leader (IT/ITES), LICT Leveraging ICT for Growth Employment and Governance; Suraiya Zannath, Lead Financial Management Specialist, World Bank Group; Ahmadul Hoq, President of BACCO; Uttam Kumar Paul, Director of Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS); and Razib Ahmed, President of e-Commerce Association of Bangladesh (e-Cab).

Zunaid Ahmed Palak said, "Bangladesh government has declared information technology and BPO as the top priority after RMG. Finance and accounting outsourcing has become an integral part of the BPO sector."

Stuart Dunlop said, "There is lot of business opportunities for Bangladesh in the BPO sector and the people are enthusiastic. There is huge scope to do business and work internationally from Bangladesh."

Mohua Rashid said, "ACCA has a long and rich experience in working with BPO and shared services around the world. There is also a qualification tailored specifically for BPO that ACCA has developed." She added, "ACCA has worked in Sri Lanka, India, Malaysia, UK, and Sub Saharan Africa to develop strong workforces for BPO, where it is a dominating sector."

Ahmadul Hoq opined, "The biggest issue is people. We have to develop a skilled and capable workforce on a larger scale for the BPO sector to capture the market."

The panellists also discussed about the global acceptance of ACCA amongst employers and BPO organisations; government partnerships with ACCA in other countries; and what kind of technical expertise ACCA can share with BPO employers.