President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Haruna Nma Yahaya, yesterday urged accountants at the private and government levels to embrace the exceptional quality of their training and commit to maintaining a consistent professional character of integrity and accuracy in public finance management.

He gave the charge at the 76th induction of 2,110 new members admitted into the institute in Lagos. Yahaya told the chartered accountants, they would now have access to delicate and highly sensitive financial information, noting that the privilege carried immense responsibility, which they must exercise in absolute confidentiality, with sound judgment, and maturity in handling such information.

A single careless disclosure could lead to grave financial, legal, or commercial consequences, he warned. He noted that with the new status, the practitioners would engage in diverse accounting systems and complex domains of specialities such as taxation, financial reporting, audit, insolvency, corporate finance, public financial management.

and more, but expressed confidence that the rigour of the ICAN professional examination process had equipped them with the competence, discipline, and analytical sharpness needed to excel.

According to him, integrity is the backbone of the profession, and the stability of the organisations they will serve depends on the ability to safeguard trust.

In a keynote address, the former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)), Suleiman Barau, observed that accountants playeda crucial role in national development, especially as it relates to public finance management.

Barau, who doubles as the Chairman of GTCO Group, charged the new inductee to prioritise integrity as the most important asset a professional can have, embrace self-development to achieve goals, stay humble, work hard to earn their living and serve the society.

Second Deputy Vice President/Chairman, Membership Affairs Committee of the Institute, Oye Akinsulire, emphasised that the inductees had demonstrated knowledge and discipline to become members of the Institute.

Akinsulire, who noted that the institute had over 67,000 members, urged the inductees to brace for challenges that may come their way during professional practice.