With the continuous development of China's economy and economic globalization, specialized finance and accounting professionals with a global vision are desperately needed in markets and industry of China. In 2010, the State Council of China promulgated the National Medium- and Long-term Plan for Talent Development (2010-2020), listing finance and accounting professionals as desperately needed talented people in key economic and social fields of China. To meet the desperate demand for internationalized finance and accounting professionals, in 2015, the College of Economics, with the support of Shenzhen University and the Guangzhou Office of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), set up the ACCA International Accounting Innovation Class.

The International Accounting Innovation Class (ACCA Class) adopts a special fostering program and teaching plan, integrating 13 exam courses of ACCA Qualification certificates into the accounting curriculum system in an effort to comprehensively upskill students' international professional accounting capabilities. After obtaining the required credits of the fostering program, students can obtain an undergraduate graduation diploma and bachelor's degree in accounting. Students who pass the global exams of ACCA's core courses will also get an ACCA international registered accountant certificate and become associate members of ACCA.

Since its setup, the ACCA International Accounting Innovation Class has achieved excellent teaching results. In 2017, it won the award of "ACCA Excellent University Award 2017" issued by ACCA. The pass rate of the ACCA Class in global unified examinations is far higher than the global average pass rate, and in some subjects, the ACCA Class has had outstanding achievements. During the exam season in December 2016, the ACCA Class won fourth place in the single subject of F6 (Taxation) worldwide (first place in mainland China); in June 2017, it won second place in the single subject of F7 (Financial Report Analysis) worldwide (first place in mainland China); in December 2018, it won third place nationwide in the Strategic Business Leader (SBL) exam. In 2019, we had the first batch of graduates of the ACCA Class. As of the exam season of June 2019, the ACCA all-subject pass rate of the students of the 2015 class reached 17.5%, and that for the F stage reached 74%. Besides, 36% of the students of that class have been enrolled into overseas universities for further education, and 44% have landed a job. They include renowned universities such as the University of Edinburgh and University of Birmingham, as well as famous enterprises such as PwC, Ernst & Young, and BDO.