He said a lot of accountants began their profession placing money ahead of integrity and because of that, they “end up impeding their own progress”.

In a speech read on his behalf at the 2016 Young Accountants’ Conference in Accra, Professor Omane-Antwi said: “If you chase  money alone, you will not deliver anything.”

The conference, which was on the theme: “Raising Accountants to be business leaders,” brought together more than 100 young accountants in the country.

Professor Omane-Antwi, who is also the Board Chairman of the Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL), said there was the need for young accountants to build a strong and credible reputation that would last years in the profession.

“Multinational companies go after solid individuals who have created a good reputation for themselves because they can be trusted at all times,” he said.

Key indicators

According to Professor Omane-Antwi, one of the key indicators that contributed to the success of any accountant was the ability to stay truthful and trustworthy.

He said although obtaining qualification was important, young accountants should focus more on building their self-image to attract the best in the industry.

The President of the Young Accountant Conference, Oheneba Kwabena Kena, said the conference was to bring together experts in the accountancy profession to educate the young accountants.

“Young accountants need to be educated well on the accountancy profession because it is one of the most enviable professions in the world,” he said.

Oheneba Kena said a survey he conducted revealed that 75 per cent of accountants working in companies had a lot of skills which “they do not put into use because of the misconception that they are accountants and their only specialty is passing entries and preparing financial statements”.

He also said the perception that accountants were only debits and credit masters had made many people  lose confidence in the profession, adding that: “Accountants are business leaders, strategy drivers and play more vital roles than people presume.”