international business world is evident in the results of one of its newer courses.

Students taking the Certified Management Accounting exam achieved a 20-percent higher pass rate than their Canadian counterparts.

The pass rate for students across Canada who attempted the exam was 54.5 percent.

While the pass rate for Bermudian students was 73.3 percent, the most successful rate of all jurisdictions within Canada's Society of Management Accountants, Dean of Hotel and Business Administration Mr. Michael Conlin said: "That's pretty amazing.'' The eleven students who passed the exam will now go on to the second year of the course before becoming CMAs.

Mr. Conlin said the part-time evening course was "tough and intensive''. And students taking it were usually employed full-time in the banks, exempted companies, the Bermuda Monetary Authority, accountancy and international management firms.

After becoming certified they are able to climb further up the administrative ladder of their companies and gain higher salaries.

Mr. Conlin believed local students taking the two-year course had been so successful because of the college's careful choice of instructors to teach it, and the fact it provided two exam prep sessions, instead of one.

"We had a very good mix of faculty, including college professors and some top rate accountants and business professionals,'' he said.

He added the 15 students who took the course had been a "dedicated and very motivated group''. The four who failed the exam must repeat the year.

The course, which costs around $2,400 a year, was first introduced at Bermuda College two years ago and has received considerable interest.

In the past, the college had only offered lower-level business courses. It was decided to offer courses at a higher and more professional level due to demand of the local business community.

Around 25 students have registered to take the course this autumn.

CMAs did not usually find the need to go on to become chartered accountants (CAs), Mr. Conlin pointed out.

"It is a highly respected qualification in Canada and Bermuda,'' he said.

"In Bermuda, the majority of people who take it end up becoming senior managers in financial corporations.'' For example, he said, Mrs. Clara Fay, who was a graduate of the first course went on to become the manager of corporate accounting at Bacardi Ltd. And Mrs.

Pauline Richards became the controller at Rollins Hudig Hall (Bermuda) Ltd.