SINGAPORE - The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) on Monday named Leong Soo Yee, the current head of its Singapore office, as its director for the Asia Pacific.

ACCA is the global body for professional accountants with more than 600,000 students and members wordwide.

Ms Leong will be responsible for supporting the development of the accountancy profession in Asia Pacific and for building ACCA's profile across Australia and New Zealand, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam, it said in a press release.

She is also tasked to explore new partnerships with relevant organizations to create fresh training and professional development opportunities for the 163,000 ACCA members and students based across these nine markets, to ensure that they continue to remain at the cutting edge of the profession.

"As the economies in Asia Pacific continue to grow, there will be an increased demand for finance professionals who can bring a broad range of finance skills to the table," Ms Leong said in the statement.

"Having a presence in countries where our members and students live and work - and where future demand for the international skills and expertise our qualification provides might be greatest - is central to the value of our global brand."