Showing posts with label Amb. Peter Beckingham. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Amb. Peter Beckingham. Show all posts

Thursday, December 18, 2008

UK's Chevening Fellowship Bestowed On Two Filipinos

Two Filipino candidates have been selected to join the prestigious Chevening Fellowship granted by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) of the United Kingdom.

Reynaldo Saludares and Lucita Rodriguez are the latest recipients of this award that sponsors studies on short courses focusing on particular subjects aligned to the FCO's strategic framework. The distinction of Chevening Fellow is offered only to professionals in a position of leadership and influence in their home country.

According to British Ambassador Peter Beckingham,"Chevening Fellowships are prestigious and highly sought-after awards with stiff competition from thousands of applicants in many countries. I am delighted that yet again Filipinos are among the successful. This reinforces the growing education links between our two countries."

Ms. Rodriguez is a deputy commissioner for tax reform in the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR). She will be attending a short course on Reform, Regulation and Public Service Provisions at the University of Bradford. The program focuses on the role of economic institutions and policy frameworks in public sector economic reform and the promotion of sustainable growth.

Atty. Reynaldo Saludares is an Assistant Solicitor General at the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG). He is slated to participate in a short course on Democracy, the Rule of Law and Security at the University of Birmingham. The program aims to provide an insight on how to balance the need to ensure national and international security with the promotion and protection of human rights.

"I am excited to learn new and sophisticated concepts on how to promote co-operation to achieve harmony, which I believe is the key to a Global Village that is peaceful and prosperous. I believe [that my course on Democracy, the Rule of Law and Security] is very relevant to the pursuit of the dream for co-operation to have harmony," Atty. Saludares enthuses.

Chevening Fellows undertake an intensive 12-week program that offers dynamic training and professional development opportunities in the UK. Courses consist of high-quality content, with contributions from leading academics and experts in the field.

Upon completion it offers the opportunity for successful candidates to maintain international policy dialogue with UK Embassies, High Commissions and Consulates. Each year there are only about 200 recipients of the Chevening Fellowship award world-wide. (Oya Arriola)

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

CIMA presence in the Philippines to meet global challenges

MANILA, Philippines - The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) is making its presence felt in the Philippines in response to the increasing demand for international finance professionals throughout the region.

As part of the activities planned in the Philippines, the CIMA cocktail reception held last November 17 witnessed the unveiling of CIMA's international brand logo by Her Majesty's Ambassador, Peter Beckingham at the new British Embassy in the Makati District.

The main highlight of the cocktail reception was the signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between CIMA and the Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA). The MoU marks a milestone for both CIMA and PICPA in the desire to promote management accountancy to PICPA members and the public.

With the signing of the MoU, CIMA and PICPA have agreed to collaborate on various areas that would contribute to further the science of management accountancy in the Philippines, particularly CIMA Learning Partner accreditation which serves as a quality assurance for institutions teaching CIMA. Being a CIMA Learning Partner enables PICPA to offer the CIMA Professional Qualification as a programme for PICPA members or other interested individuals.

As valued partners, CIMA and PICPA shall endeavour to share and exchange resources to achieve the objectives and missions that are mutually beneficial to both parties.

As a leading global professional institute, CIMA offers an internationally recognised qualification in management accountancy. With 23% membership growth over the last five years, CIMA has professional qualifications that are highly relevant to today's ever changing business world.

The CIMA qualifications equip its members to work anywhere in the world. It is the only international professional qualification with a syllabus that has a sole focus on the education and training of accountants in business. Globally, 52% of CIMA members are employed by organisations with an annual turnover of £50 million or more, and 98% of members work in business.

Rick Sturge, CIMA's Director of Employer and Strategic Development commented, "CIMA is excited to be making its presence in the Philippines in response to the needs of not only the employers, members and students locally but also to the wide ranging reforms in the tertiary education to be undertaken by the Philippine Commission of Higher Education (CHEd) by 2009-2010.

CIMA lauds CHEd in its determination to upgrade the Philippines' tertiary education to be on par with not only its neighbouring countries but also with the rest of the world."

Among various educational developments being proposed is reserving some courses at tertiary level for those with a master's degree. The UK government agency awards CIMA qualification as equivalent to a master's degree.

"With this undertaking, the Philippines which took us two years to reach this milestone is strategically a very important market for CIMA. It is opportune that CIMA and PICPA sign the MoU in conjunction with the CHEd's announcement that it will be supporting centres of excellence and incentives will be provided to accredited programs," said Sturge.

Being a qualification with uniform requirements wherever it is taken, CIMA acts as a gold standard, and this gives employers a quality guarantee when recruiting finance professionals throughout the world." (Oya Arriola)