Live up to professional ethics — Prof. Aheto charges accounting professionals

A Professor of accounting and finance, Prof. J.B.K. Aheto, has charged accounting professionals to be guided by ethics and morality in their professional conduct.

Prof. Aheto, who was speaking at the official launch of the headquarters of Deon and Noed International (DNI), an audit, tax and advisory services firm in Accra, indicated that ethics and morality were the key ingredients which set the best consultancy firms apart from others.

He, therefore, charged the partners (Dr Christopher Kwame Sokpor, CA, LLB, PhD (Accounting and Finance) – Senior Partner (Audit and Tax); Ms Sena Dake, CA, BL, CISA – (Audit Partner) and director (Dr Mrs Edem Sokpor, MIHRMP, MSHRM, PhD (HRM) – (Executive Director of Advisory) of DNI not to accept businesses or contracts from companies which would not adhere to truth and morality in their business operations.

“I urge you to wash your hands off businesses that do not have integrity; we should not accept anything that does not have integrity. We should also make sure that we wash our hands off if there is the least chance or an appearance of the impression that the people we associate with lack integrity,” he said.

In a brief introduction on the genesis of DNI, Dr Christopher Kwame Sokpor, the Senior Partner of the firm, revealed that the company, which is a total consultancy firm, began operations at Adabraka in Accra in 2009.

Dr Sokpor indicated that DNI aspired to be number five, after the top four accounting firms in the world, as the firm could boast some of the best pool of world-class professionals and systems.

He said from “its humble beginnings in 2009, DNI now had presence in seven countries: Ghana (Accra and Volta Region offices), Sierra Leone, Liberia, Nigeria, United Kingdom, Guinea and Togo.

He revealed that the company’s pool of professionals and associates spread across the world, an advantage which ensured that all clients received the best value for money all the time.

The senior partner said the ultramodern head office building of DNI was a wholly owned facility, and that “this beautiful edifice was built by DNI and would serve as the head office of the firm from now onwards”.

In his remarks, Mr Joseph Frederick Odartey Blankson, past president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Ghana (ICAG), said DNI would reach higher heights and would achieve laurels in the nearest future “because of the efficient people, systems and processes that they have put in place for their growing clients.”

Explaining the history of the work of accountants, Mr Odartey Blankson stated that one of the things accountants did was to help in the economic development of the country by providing advice and ensuring that businesses grow.

He said the ICAG would want to see many companies that were growing and contributing to the socio-economic development of the country.

“We want to see businesses that produce goods and services, businesses that employ Ghanaians and we want to see businesses that contribute to the social development of this country and I am privileged to know this morning that the principals of this firm are not only into debit and credit but they are actually providing advice to businesses, in the area of audit, tax, and advisory and growing clients businesses,” he stressed.

Mr Odartey Blankson indicated that he was confident that the firm would succeed because of its rich leadership.

He commended the Senior Partner for projecting the ICA Ghana in Liberia and thanked him and the other members of the institute for their pioneering work in helping wean the people of Liberia from the American Charter to which Liberian Accountants had been affiliated since independence from the USA in 1847.