The Institute of Chartered Accountants, Ghana (ICAG), the regulatory body of accountancy, has charged its members to be at the forefront in the fight against corruption and other financial malfeasance in the country.
The President of ICAG, Augustine Addo, said accountants had a duty to ensure the reduction of financial mismanagement to help in the accelerated development of the country.
“There is no financial commitment or disbursement that will not involve an accountant. The accountant initiates the financial process, monitors, pays or audits.
“Accountants must not engage in untoward practices and if they encounter them, they must be alert and not compromise,” he said.
Mr Addo was speaking at the 44th graduation and admission ceremony of ICAG in Accra last Saturday, where 956 chartered accountants graduated.
Out of the number, 617 of them were admitted into full membership of ICAG, 224 as associate members who would become full members after some experience on the job, while the rest were awarded professional diploma certificates.
Present at the ceremony were some past presidents of ICAG, including Albert Kan Dapaah, a former National Security Minister.
Professionalism
Mr Addo said issues of embezzlement, fraudulent financial statements, under and over invoicing and bad financial management systems in both the private and public sectors could negatively affect confidence in the economy, urging accountants to uphold integrity, objectivity and professionalism in all their dealings.
He reiterated the commitment of ICAG to sanitise the accountancy profession and ensure that recalcitrant members and firms that failed to uphold its regulations would be sanctioned in line with the law.
“If a member or firm violates the rules and ethics, the disciplinary committee of ICAG will investigate the matter and sanction accordingly when the case is found to be meritorious,” the president said.
He mentioned the sanctions to include dismissal from the institute, fines and withdrawal of licenses, adding that “recently, we published some sanctions that had been meted out to our members and firms”.
Capacity building
The president further urged the graduates to constantly build their competencies by acquiring new skills and knowledge that would enable them to compete on the global stage.
He said the accountancy profession had moved from crunching numbers to dealing with technological advances such as artificial intelligence, big data and advanced software.
“Businesses and other organisations are engaging in ever more complex arrangements and transactions. These trends lead to the need for greater accountability; also, in all cultures, demands on the profession are high and continue to rise,” Mr Addo added.
Commitment
For his part, the Deputy Director of Tertiary Education at the Ministry of Education, Paa Kwadwo Sam, who represented the Minister of Education, said the government was committed to improving all level of education.
He mentioned the revamping of the Scholarships Secretariat, the uncapping of the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETfund) and the No-Academic–Fee Policy, which the government had committed to pay the first year academic fees of students who had gained admission into public tertiary institutions as some of the initiatives.
Writer’ s email: emma.hawkson@graphic.com.gh
