It has always been INAA’s main priority to serve the different requirements of our members, so they can continue to meet their clients’ expectations.
As a global association with members from more than 50 countries on all continents of our planet, it is our primary objective to build strong and close relationships between fellow professionals which will facilitate cooperation on international projects.
There is no denying that the world is growing together at high speed and that we live in a business environment where cross-border deals are part of our daily routine, which means that, as a logical consequence, language really does matter!
However, we are also aware of the fact that many of our members do not come from English-speaking countries, and although their average language skills are quite remarkable, there is always room for improvement.
That is why INAA have concluded to make a special offer to our members: In parallel with the European Tax and Audit Forum that took place in Amsterdam on 5 and 6 October 2017, INAA organised for the very first time English language courses for interested professionals.
The 9 attendees came from France, Italy, Germany and the Netherlands. Most of them were staff members from INAA member firms (accountants and tax consultants), but we were also able to welcome a partner to our midst!
The course was given by experienced language tutors that were briefed about the professional requirements of our member firms.
Beforehand, the tutors had conducted an intake interview over the phone to determine the current level of the respective participants, which ensured that everyone was assigned to the right group (2 different levels: Business English for Beginners and Higher-level English).
We are very pleased to announce that we did receive positive feedback at the end of the respective courses: All our attendees were extremely enthusiastic and satisfied, since they did feel that the course had been tailored to their individual needs and that they definitely had learnt a lot during the sessions.
Alessandro Cavallari, Accountant and Tax Consultant at Baudo & Partners (Italy), tells us his feeling about this first experience :
"My opinion about the English course is really very positive.
The lessons were well organized. After a short general presentation of the English course and the participants, we discussed about topics related economics area (for example we discussed a newspaper article related a big fraud happened in Italy in 2016 ,we discussed a speech of “Ted talk” related honesty and ethics in business, we discussed about difference ways of people communication depending on their geographic area). Then we studied how to write formal or informal business email/letter, the specific expression to use and we corrected some real business emails sent to a Client. Furthermore, we read and discussed a newspaper article related the future change of auditor’s work in relation to the technological changes and we simulated a Shareholder meeting related an approval of Financial Statements.
It was all very interesting and I had a chance to interactive and talk to my colleagues and to the teacher during all lessons (also during the breaks).
All of this has happened in an always pleasant and relaxed atmosphere but, at the same time, with great concentration and no waste time. My general sensation, after the course, is to have improved my English knowledge mostly in speaking and listening comprehension ( which are, generally, my biggest problems).
I hope new courses will be organized. If yes, I would like to follow them again because I think they are useful in order to consolidate the general understanding of English through the direct experience, face to face, with people of different nationalities. You have also the opportunity to build new relationships, get to know new colleagues, listen to their experiences, talk about your experience, deal with finance/economic/tax issues and try to understand the differences between countries."
INAA have therefore decided to organise more English courses in the future, and we would like to invite you and your staff to enrol for them. Communication is the key to success, so join our courses and open the door to new opportunities!