IFAC tasks accountants on growth of Nigeria’s economy

The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) has said that the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN) has huge leadership roles to play with the available manpower to grow the Nigerian economy.

The President of IFAC, Mrs. Olivia Kirtley, at a Breakfast Meeting in Abuja, with the President of ANAN, Anthony Nzom, and the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, among others, made the charge.

She said that to grow the Nigerian economy, the roles of accountants are very important and remarkable, as Nigeria is one of the three countries that produce 75 per cent of accountants in Africa, making it a strong base for accounting profession.

“ANAN should educate politicians and governments at all levels on the need to have stronger professional Accountants. As an organisation, it should be a champion in knowing things that work well and those that are not working well for the economy.

“Accountants need to establish good relationship with government at all levels and the political class to have firm regulation of the profession,’’ Kirtley said.

According to her, the capability of accountants to provide financial information to companies and government is vital if accountants are really going to grow the economy.

She urged accountants to comply with the international code of ethics and do the right thing with the right information at their disposal if they are to move the economy in the right direction.

She suggested that with their continental leadership roles in accountancy, Nigerian accountants could help other African nations with the best practices in accounting profession.

“To really get high level of professional capability, there is need for capacity building. There should also be strong governance as a key element of accountability. We need to empower people to have strong flair for governance. Good governance is very key to accountability and transparency,’’ the IFAC president said.

However, ANAN President, Nzom, said that when officials of IFAC came to Nigeria in 2015, they were taken to the Nigerian College of Accountancy (NCA) in Jos, Plateau – the training arm of ANAN.

“Having come here on the invitation of our sister body – the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, we felt we should use the occasion to tell you how much ANAN appreciates your leadership.

“Your leadership role has brought us to the forefront of the profession and made ANAN be rated high in Africa. We are now mentoring some accounting bodies in Africa like Malawi, which had been seeking our assistance. We were in Zimbabwe and they appreciated us,’’ Nzom said.

IFAC’s Executive Director Strategy and Chief Operating Officer, Alta Prinsloo, said the profession stood on three legs – transparency, accountability and high-quality information.

She spoke on IFAC Global Knowledge Gateway and the Memorandum of Understanding the global accounting body has put in place on capacity building.

“Your responsibility is to boost capacity of accountants to adhere to rules of corporate governance,’’ she said.