Accounting students at recognised universities and colleges can now sit the exams for four professional certificates offered by the Saudi Organization for Chartered and Professional Accountants (SOCPA) before they graduate, allowing them to choose a qualification path and start meeting its requirements alongside their studies.

The four certificates are Accounting Technician, VAT Specialist, International Financial Reporting Standards, and Public Sector Accounting Standards. Students must be enrolled in a bachelor's programme in accounting and submit a certified statement showing they have completed at least 50% of the credit hours in their study plan.

The move is part of changes to the academic requirements for SOCPA's professional exams that broaden the eligible groups and majors. Holders of bachelor's degrees in other fields may sit the four certificate exams after completing nine accounting credit hours and attending the preparatory programme for the relevant exam.

Holders of a bachelor's degree or higher in economics, finance or administrative sciences are also eligible, with 15 accounting credit hours required for the Fellowship and Certified Fraud Examiner exams and six for the other four exams. Associate diploma holders in accounting may sit the four certificate exams, while a bachelor's degree or higher in accounting qualifies candidates for all six exams: the four certificates plus the Fellowship and Certified Fraud Examiner.

Holders of specified professional fellowships — AICPA, ICAEW, ACCA, CPA Canada, CPA Australia, ICAP, ICAI and CAANZ — may sit the Certified Fraud Examiner exam and the four certificate exams, subject to each exam's detailed requirements.

According to SOCPA, the changes respond to shifts in the labour market and its varied need for accounting talent by expanding qualification opportunities and linking academic study with professional requirements.