Education Minister inaugurates ICAG Governing Council
The Minister of Education Haruna Iddrisu yesterday inaugurated the Governing Council of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Ghana (ICAG), with a call on accountants to support the government to combat corruption.
He said corruption, leakages, over-invoicing, and under-invoicing could only always be revealed and exposed by accountants.
“Do so for the Republic in order that you can guarantee value for money for the Ghanaian taxpayer in the work that you do.
And it's important that, in your case, integrity is not an optional value.
It is at the hallmark of your career,” the minister said.
Council members
The 12-member governing council has Augustine Addo as its president and Rev. Dr Cynthia Ayorkor Sallah as Vice- President.
The council members include Patience Mawushie Dzikunoo, Thomas Kwesi Esso, Dr Frank Gbadago, Frances Enyonam Sosoo, Belinda Dede Tandoh and the Chief Executive Officer of the CIAG Paul Kwasi Agyeman.
The council also has Inusah Shiraz and Dr Nana David Annan-Bonny as representatives from the Ministry of Education as well as a yet to be nominated representative of the Ministry of Finance.
Accountancy profession
The minister reminded the accountants that they were the stewards of the mandate that demanded transparency, accountability, and responsiveness.
"Your role will be to ensure that the accountancy profession is practiced, reflecting best practices, and ensuring that decisions that are taken are objective, inclusive, and in the interest of the profession and the Ghanaian public," the Minister charged them.
Mr Iddrisu reminded the council members that their role would be to ensure that the accountancy profession was practiced, reflecting best practices, and ensuring that decisions that were taken were objective, inclusive, and in the interest of the profession and the Ghanaian public.
Visibility
“I trust that you will lead as regulators with integrity. Don't only preach it, you must live it and practise it. Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, then your visibility is also important,” he advised the professional body.
He observed that although ICAG was doing a lot of work, much of it was on the quiet, advising that, it was about time that “you publicise much of the work that you are doing”.
“In Ghana, we appreciate you whenever they are discussing public accounts and the revelations of embezzlement, misappropriation, diversion of public funds, funds not properly used,” Mr Iddrisu said.
He said Ghanaians needed to see more of “you with a strategy to enhance the visibility of the institution,” advising them to do more stakeholder engagement and public education and participate more in the national discourse.
The minister charged members of the ICAG to strengthen their enforcement mechanism, ensure compliance with professional and ethical standards, particularly the ethics, stressing that the values must be all-time respected and upheld both in practice and as observers.
Mr Iddrisu said Ghanaians did not expect compromises in the professional standards and integrity of it and urged them to ensure that they were aligned with government policy, adding,
“We need to see how your activities in the coming years will align with President Obama's vision.”
The minister congratulated the members for accepting to serve the country in their respective leadership roles.
Response
Responding Mr Addo thanked President John Mahama, the Council of State and Mr Iddrisu for the trust reposed in them and pledged on behalf of the council to serve the country to their best of ability.
He said the governing council had the mandate and the statutory responsibility to ensure that the objective of the institute was carried out with all the vigour and urgency that it deserved.
