Future figures

The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants has hailed the dawn of a new age for computer-based training in the accountancy profession with a revised foundation-level syllabus available through interactive computer-aided learning.

The institute has accredited EQL International, which produces a wide range of computer-based training packages for the accountancy and finance sectors, to develop and deliver its Cima Inter@ctive study system. This will initially cover all five foundation subjects in its new syllabus.

Robert Jelly, Cima's director of student affairs, said computer-based training offered the flexibility that students, employers and education providers wanted. "As an organisation, Cima is looking to introduce computer-based assessment in the near future, and so we believe it is important to give students the opportunity to learn in the same medium as that through which they will be tested."

The institute's students have free access to samples of the new study material through Cima's website. Eventually, students worldwide will be able to download and buy the full training package.

Details: www.cima.org.uk.