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The Institute of Chartered Accountants, Ghana (ICAG) has advised the government to reduce waste in its operations as part of the measures to help the country out of its current economic difficulties.
Additionally, it has encouraged people to also be honest in their dealings with the government to help protect public finances.
peaking at the 41st Graduation and Admission ceremony of ICAG in Accra last Saturday (June 3), the President of the accountancy regulatory body, Sena Dake, said: “Devoid of politics, let’s reduce waste, let’s promote honesty, let’s teach the future generation how to be trustworthy, knowing that it is our attitudinal change that can enhance our stewardship.”
The ceremony saw the graduation of 721 individuals who had successfully completed the chartered accountancy professional programme.
Out of the 721, 620 were formally admitted as Chartered Accountants and full members of ICAG, while 202 became associate members.
The associate members will become full members after having at least 36 months of work experience.
One of the highlights of the event was 18-year old Princess Korkor Boateng, a student of the University of Ghana, who became an associate member of ICAG, the youngest ever in the history of the accountancy profession.
Thirty seven staff of the Economic and Organised Crime Office, the Ghana Police Service, Audit Service, the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), the Narcotics Control Commission, Financial Intelligence Centre and Internal Audit Agency, also graduated with Post-Chartered Diploma in Forensic Audit, a training programme by ICAG in collaboration with EOCO.
Present at the ceremony were council members of ICAG, the country Managing Partner of Deloitte, Daniel Owusu, who was the guest of honour, the Executive Director of EOCO and a former council member of the ICAG, COP Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo –Danquah, and the Vice Chancellor of the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA), Professor Abednego Feehi Okoe Amartey, who represented the Minister of Education.
Ms Dake said ICAG as the regulatory body of the accountancy profession was implementing a number of initiatives to further enhance the quality of the profession and also support growth of businesses and the economy at large.
For instance, she said the ICAG had embarked on a programme to strengthen entrepreneurs, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) by making the services of chartered accountants more easily accessible to them.
“We are also engaging the public through financial literacy to support basic appreciation of financial management by all, help protect public interest and to build public trust,” she said.
The ICAG President, however, bemoaned the salaries and remuneration paid by some institutions to chartered accountants, describing them as appalling and a disincentive to professional accountants.
“It is time we paid attention to and recognised the key roles that professional accountants play in creating, verifying, and giving assurance on high-quality sustainable information as enablers and trusted advisors,” she stressed.
Mr Owusu, in his keynote address, advised accountants to ascribe to professionalism in all aspects of their work as their decisions and omissions could significantly affect the wellbeing of organisations and the economy in general.
“We should always exhibit professional behaviour.
This involves treating others with respect, maintaining a diverse and inclusive environment and avoiding anything that will damage the reputation of the business we work for and their stakeholders,” he said.
Prof Amartey, also in a brief address, urged accountants to continuously build their capacity, especially in information, communication and technology (ICT) in order to be abreast with the ever-evolving technological dispensation.
