An Address - The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria

During the visit, I congratulated the Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of theCouncil, Mr. Jim. O. Obazee, FCA on his appointment and for being the first ExecutiveSecretary/Chief Executive Officer of the body. Thereafter, I stressed the fact that the visitwas both to show support for the Council and to seek clarification on grey areas of theroles/powers of the body including who should register with the Council: firms orindividuals, only members in practice or all members of the Institute, essence ofregistration fees when members had paid their subscriptions to ICAN, etc. In his response,Mr. Obazee welcomed me, stating that the visit will foster greater collaboration betweenthe two bodies and promote the Government’s transformation agenda. He explained thatall chartered accountants are required to register with the body and that such register willbe done for only financial members of the Institute. He also added that firms of charteredaccountants are required to register with the Council for effective control of theprofession. He promised to continue to collaborate with the Institute. Furthermore, he tookquestions and answers from members of the President’s entourage and took time to clarifythe grey areas of the Act establishing the Council. Efforts are on to improve relationshipsbetween the Institute and the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria. Two members of theInstitute- Mr. Olutayo Phillips and Dr. Etofolam Osuji have been nominated to representthe Institute on the Governing Board of the Council.All issues raised with respect to the Institute’s 2012 financial reports have been addressedand agreed with the Council.Growth of Membership16. During the Induction ceremonies held in November, 2012, a total of 1,096 newly qualifiedyoung men and women were admitted into the disciplined Accountancy Profession. At theend of the ceremonies, (which included technical paper presentations and formaladmission), the membership of our Institute rose to 36,890. We are proud of this regularcontribution to capacity building in the country. I must thank all past presidents who wereable to grace the occasion with their esteemed presence.Association of Accounting Technicians17. Similarly, the membership of the AAT rose to 15,972 following the admission of 1,042newly qualified young men and women into the fold in June and December 2012. As Past11