INSTITUTES - IFA faces big ACCA damages claim for syllabus copying
ACCA is seeking substantial damages from the Institute of Financial Accountants for plagiarising its exams.
In a High Court writ, the certifieds’ association claims six papers were copied verbatim, while several others are very similar. It wants the IFA, which has just won reciprocal exemption from CIMA for its exams, to destroy the relevant documents and pay damages.
The writ states: ‘It is evident to any intelligent person, and would have been evident to the defendant, that the defendant’s syllabus was copied from the plaintiff’s.’
Anthea Rose, ACCA’s chief executive, added: ‘It is unfortunate that ACCA has been obliged to take this action, but the IFA has left us no choice.
We must do everything in our power to protect the integrity of our syllabus.’
CIMA, which granted seven of the institute’s exams exemption status, said it would review the exemption if the IFA is found guilty.
The IFA, which has 8,000 members, refused to comment on the accusations, but is expected to fight the writ.
ACCA’s controversial new technician level qualification has only been adopted by two private colleges so far.
The certifieds’ association, which has won backing from major accountancy training specialists BPP and ATEW, is confident of securing courses at state colleges before the start of the autumn term. But a spokesman said that funding problems have been an obstacle to progress.
