The graduation ceremony of P.A. College was held on Friday, June 24, 2016 at Larnaca Municipal Theatre and marked the completion of a successful academic year.

Among the honorary guests of the evening were the General Manager of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus, Mr. Kyriakos Iordanou, the CEO of Grant Thornton (Cyprus) Ltd, Mr. Stavros Ioannou, and the external examiner, Professor Duska Rosenberg from the University of London.

In his message, Dr. Patsalides proudly presented the hybrid programme 'Graduates Route to ACA' which was established in collaboration with the world-class Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales (ICAEW) and the world-renowned auditing firm KPMG Limited, Cyprus. As mentioned by Dr. Patsalides, this unique university programme provides an opportunity for graduates to pursue the professional qualification of a Chartered Accountant (ACA) attending the B.A. (Hons) Business Administration programme (specialisation in Accounting and Finance) at P.A. College, which provides 12 exemptions out of the 15 papers required for the qualification of a Chartered Accountant (ACA). Additionally, Dr. Patdalides explained that the collaboration with KPMG Limited, Cyprus and the ICAEW empowers the degree programme as it incorporates a 12-month internship programme at KPMG Limited, Cyprus which provides one third of the technical work experience required for the ACA qualification.

Addressing the graduates of the College, Mr. Iordanou emphasised that P.A. College is a distinguished University Business School in Cyprus and acknowledged the outstanding university level maintained at the College. Mr. Iordanou praised the high quality and significant contribution of the College towards the upgrading of Higher Education in our country and referred to the notable importance of the strategic collaborations established by the College with distinguished organisations such as the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), Grant Thornton (Cyprus) Ltd and KPMG Limited, Cyprus which are both renowned auditing firms. Then, he congratulated the graduates and urged the administrative and academic staff to continue their high-quality work.        

In his message, Mr. Ioannou has demonstrated the high degree of employability and the multiple employment opportunities enjoyed by the graduates of the College. In addition, he referred to the excellent collaboration between Grant Thornton (Cyprus) Ltd and the second cohort of P.A. College students who are currently participating in the 'Grant Thornton Route to ACA' programme. He stated that these students have been assigned important work tasks and that the degree of response and success is extremely high.

Addressing the graduates, Dr. Duska Rosenberg said that, as an experienced academic and external examiner at the Universities of Cambridge, London, Sheffield, Stanford, Sussex, Wiesbaden, and Zagreb, she was delighted to observe that the level of P.A. College is as high as the level of the aforementioned universities.

During the ceremony, graduates received their degrees and prizes were awarded to those who pursued high academic achievements.

Special thanks were expressed to all individuals and organisations that offered prizes. At the end of the ceremony, all guests were invited to a cocktail reception.