International accounting exam success for PwC Cyprus trainees

Three out of the six prize-winners in the International Subject Orders of Merit of the December 2009 ACA Professional Stage exams are based in Cyprus, training with PricewaterhouseCoopers, in cooperation with PwC Academy and Intercollege.
First place and the Watts Prize in the Audit and Assurance paper went to Vasso Kakota, first place and the Little Prize in the Taxation paper was awarded to Elena Kanna and Denis Gulyarenko took first place and the Spicer and Pegler Prize for his performance in the Financial Accounting paper.
The students will be presented with their awards by ICAEW Chief Executive Michael Izza at a graduation ceremony at the Cyprus Hilton Hotel on Tuesday, February 9.
“Based on the strengths of the PwC network we are able to support the talent, the innovation and the creativeness of young people,” said Phidias Pilides, Chief Executive Officer of PwC Cyprus.
“The exceptional performance of Denis Gulyarenko, Vasso Kakota and Elena Kanna makes us feel proud. They prove that you can seize your dream through devotion and hard work. We congratulate them and their tutors and wish them many more successes in the future.”
Vasso Kakota is a 2009 ACA trainee based in PwC’s Nicosia office, working for Assurance. Vasso graduated from Apostolos Varnavas Lyceum then undertook a BSc Public and Business Administration degree from the University of Cyprus.
Elena Kanna is a 2008 ACA trainee who is also based in PwC’s Nicosia office working for Assurance. Elena graduated from Saint George's Lyceum then undertook a BA Accounting and Finance degree from Lancaster University, obtaining First Class honours. Elena has now completed the professional stage of the ACA exams.
Denis Gulyarenko is a 2009 ACA trainee who joined PwC in September last year. He works for Assurance and is based in the firm’s Limassol office. He studied BA in International Management from St. Petersburg State University in Russia before joining PwC as a trainee.
Overall, according to the ICAEW assessors, the candidates were very well prepared and that was reflected in the pass rates.
Those studying the tax paper, in particular, have achieved the highest pass rate since the paper was introduced in 2007 with 92.2% of the 799 candidates passing.
A total of 3,844 candidates attempted the Professional Stage exams at the December 2009 session. They took a total of 7,474 papers and 2,853 students (74.2%) passed all the papers they attempted.
Of the 1304 candidates who completed the Professional Stage this session, 771 (59.1%) did so without failing any papers at any session. They now move on to the Advanced Stage, leading to the prestigious ACA qualification.
The pass rates for the respective papers were:
Business Strategy – 83.2%
Financial Reporting – 77.6%
Financial Accounting – 85.7%
Audit and Assurance – 83.1%
Taxation – 92.2%
Financial Management – 83.9%
Cyprus was the first market outside the UK to offer the ACA qualification. It also has the largest student population outside the UK. The number of new students enrolling in 2008 was the highest since tuition started in 1993.
There are now around 1,100 ICAEW members in Cyprus, many of whom are also members of ICPAC. Since tuition began in Cyprus, nearly 1,500 students have trained and qualified locally. At present, there are 655 students training with one of over 50 authorised training employers and studying with one of the two colleges that offer the ACA: Intercollege and Cyprus College.