If Nigeria must be transformed economically, all its existing institutions must be strengthened while new ones are created with a more enduring framework. This is part of the recommendations made at the just concluded 7th Eastern Zonal Accountants Conference of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), held in Yenagoa, Bayelsa state.
It was also agreed that since foreign investors react positively to economic transformation, there should be greater financial reporting transparency in all sectors of a nation’s economy; hence Nigeria’s full adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) is a step in the right direction.
Declaring the conference open, the Governor of Bayelsa State, Hon. Henry Seriake Dickson said that Chartered Accountants should move closer to governments at all levels and offer advice to them on financial policy formulation.
The governor who was represented by his deputy, Rear Admiral Gboribiogha John Jonah (retd) stated this while declaring open the 7th Eastern Districts Conference of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) Conference holding in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa state capital on Wednesday, July 18.
According to him, Chartered Accountants had been wonderful and useful to governments in the past and should continue with the feat. While disclosing that Bayelsa had produced more than 100 Chartered Accountants, the Governor assured participants at the conference that the state would not rest on its oars to produce more on yearly basis.
He also gave the assurance that the communiqué issued after the conference, if passed to THE appropriate quarters in government circle, would be looked into as a guide in taking certain decisions.
In his welcome address, ICAN President, Mr Doyin Owolabi explained how far the Institute had gone in terms of capacity development as part of its mandate. He said that the Institute had produced about 36,500 Chartered Accountants and 14,500 Accounting Technicians who were delivering value to their diverse clientele and employers in the various sectors of the national and international economies.
He also said that the Institute was not oblivious of the challenges facing the local environment, hence its resolve to conceptualize a programme – the Students Special Project (SSP)– to cater for the needs of the states perceived to have a dearth of Chartered Accountants required to drive the economy. He declared that Bayelsa was the first to embrace the project and the programme had produced over 30 Chartered Accountants while many more had passed various stages of the Institute’s professional examinations.
On the conference theme, “Good governance: A panacea for economic transformation”, the ICAN President said it was carefully selected to underscore the place of good governance in the economic transformation of the nation. He therefore implored participants and resource persons to do justice to the topic and proffer solutions to the nation’s economic crisis.