A ceremony was held last Friday at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) to officially inaugurate the Ashanti Region chapter of the Association of Women Accountants, Ghana (AWAG).
Subsequently, an 11-member executive with a two-year mandate was sworn into office to oversee the operations of the association in the region. They included Cecilia Barte Plange, President; Dr Richmell Baaba Amanamah, Vice President and Nana Frema Gyapon, Secretary.
Others were Rebecca Achiaa, Financial Secretary; Regina Druwaa Owusu-Asare, Assistant Secretary; Victoria Seledzi, Assistant Financial Secretary; Ellen Awotwi, Public Relations Officer; and Abigail Beima Akowuah, Assistant Public Relations Officer.
The rest are Yvette Agyeiwaa Osei, Welfare Organiser; Grace Serwaa Boateng and Anita Okyere Appiah, as Assistant Welfare Officers.
Umbrella
In her inaugural address, the National President of AWAG, Akua Bonsu-Owu, said AWAG was founded not to merely gather women accountants under one umbrella, but to create a movement that would attract young women into accountancy.
Similarly, she said, the association was to ensure retention of the members despite the challenges of career life, build their capacity to soar higher and empower them to advocate for change in society.
“Our vision is to be the benchmark women's professional association in Ghana and to stand tall on the global stage with the International Federation of Women Accountants,” she said.
She added that “no girl-child should ever believe that accountancy is not for her. Our profession must not lose its brightest women to barriers we can remove together.” She stated that the voice of women accountants must echo beyond the boardroom into policy to bring social change.
She charged the new executives to make the Kumasi branch a heartbeat that pulses with mentorship, collaboration and excellence, saying, “When we empower women, we empower communities and transform nations.”
Pledge
The AWAG Ashanti Chapter President, Cecilia Bart Plange, speaking on behalf of the new leadership, pledged that they would perform their responsibilities with diligence and commitment towards the association’s growth.
She pledged to mentor and inspire the next generation, especially young women, to realise the various opportunities in the field of accounting and further expressed stakeholders’ concern about the decline in students’ interest in accounting education at the SHS level.
She said, “This trend is worrying, considering the critical role accountants play in promoting financial transparency and driving Ghana’s economic growth.”
The Vice Dean of the KNUST School of Business (KSB), Professor Kingsley Opoku Appiah, who chaired the event, entreated the executives to serve well to justify the confidence reposed in them by their members.
Chartered accountants
During a mentorship session as part of its corporate social responsibility with some students of the KNUST Senior High School (SHS), the immediate past AWAG National President, Patience Mawushie Dzikunoo, bemoaned the low number of female chartered accountants in the country.
She said there were about 11,000 registered chartered accountants in Ghana, but only 28 per cent of the total number were women, and therefore advocated for more women to venture into the accounting profession to bridge the gap.
She encouraged the female students to disabuse their minds about the perception that accounting is the preserve of men, saying, “We believe women must be supported to go into accounting to contribute their quota towards the field’s growth.”
Writer’s email: gilbert.agbey@graphic.com.gh
