An Address - The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria

An AddressbyMr. Adedoyin Idowu Owolabi, BSc (Econs), MILR, MNIM, FCAThe 48 th President ofThe Institute of Chartered Accountants of NigeriaDuringA Courtesy Call onHis Excellency Theodore Ikemefuna OrjiThe Executive GovernorAbia StateatGovernment House, UmuahiaOnThursday, January 31, 2013Page 1 of 7

Your Excellency, the Executive Governor of Abia State -Chief Theodore Ikemefuna Orji;Secretary to the State Government;Head of Service;Members of the State Executive Council;Honourable Permanent Secretaries;ICAN Council Members;Co-ordinator,Abia & Umuahia District Societiesies, Mrs. Joy Onome Olaolu FCA;Chairman, Aba District Society, Mazi Philip Okonkwo, ACACA;Chairman, Umuahia District Society, Mr. John Nwichi, FCA;Acting Registrar/Chief Executive - Mr. O. O. . Odukoya, FCA;My Professional Colleagues of the Noble and Disciplined Profession ofAccounting;Members of the Press;Distinguished Ladies and GentlemenPREAMBLE1. Let me begin by thanking Your Excellency, members of your cabinetand the good people of Abia state for the warm reception accordedme and my entourage since our arrival. This demonstrates veryclearly your predisposition to the course of professionalism and yourlove for the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria. We feelgreatly honoured. Once again, thank you Your Excellency.2 On behalf of Council and the entire membership of my Institute, Iwish to commiserate with Your Excellency and the good people ofAbia State over the loss of lives and property occasioned by therecent flood disaster which ravaged many states in the South Eastincluding Abia State, God’s Own State.Page 2 of 7

Purpose of Visit3. Your Excellency, Sir, I am in Abia State as part of my official visit tothe Aba and Umuahia District Societies, which are two of the 46District Societies created by my Institute as strategic outpoststhrough which our governing Council monitors the activities of itsmembers, apprise them of, as well as harness their views on, criticalprofessional, economic and financial issues in the national andinternational economy. The visit will also enable me assess theirwelfare and how well they have been performing their public interestmandate of supporting your government and rendering value ladenservices to other stakeholders in Abia State.4. From the positive and impressive reports I have received from theExecutive and members of these District Societies since my arrival inthe State, my Institute’s long standing impression of yourgovernment as one committed to the ideals of honesty, transparencyand accountability which are the hallmarks of the AccountancyProfession, is firmly founded. Indeed, we are greatly enthused to notethat the Speaker of Abia House of Assembly, Auditor General forLocal Governments as well as Director of Finance, AccountantGeneral’s office are all chartered accountants. Considering the valueladenservices that Chartered accountants provide, I am persuadedthat they will justify not only the confidence reposed in them but alsoremain your strategic partners as you continue to strive to re-definegovernance in terms of efficient resource management, qualitativePage 3 of 7

service delivery, improved citizens’ access to the basic things of lifeand the emergence of a conducive business environment for theindustrious people of Abia State. Once again, I salute YourExcellency’s exemplary commitment to the ideals of goodgovernance.ADOPTION OF IPSAS BY NIGERIA5. As you are aware sir, the nation has adopted and will commence theuse of International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSASs) asbasis for financial reporting in the public sector with effect fromJanuary 2014. Given the technicalities of these standards which willinvolve a transfer from cash accounting to accrual accounting, thereis need for Abia State to proactively build capacity in this area.Accordingly, Your Excellency, I invite you to consider appointingmore chartered accountants into other various Executive positions inorder to take advantage of their expertise and further positivelyimpact revenue generation and governance processes in Abia State.This will certainly give your government a head start and a leadingedge in this direction. Ultimately, the good people of Abia State willbe the better for it.ISSUE OF CORRUPTION AND WHISTLE BLOWER’S PROTECTION BILL6. Your Excellency, the frequent classification of Nigeria byTransparency International as one of the most corrupt countries inthe world calls for serious concern and action by the government, thePage 4 of 7

entire citizenry and indeed professionals who are committed to theideals of accountability and transparency. Accordingly, YourExcellency, permit me to bring to your esteemed attention the planby my Institute to sponsor a Whistleblower’s Protection Bill at theNational Assembly as part of our contributions not only to promotebest practices in corporate governance but also to rid the society ofcorrupt and sharp practices which have accounted for theunacceptable continuous rise in the misery index of the citizenry.Pursuant to this resolve, we have launched a Whistleblower’sProtection Fund while the draft bill is almost ready for submission tothe National Assembly as a Private Member’s Bill. Sir, as a championof integrity, we earnestly court your support, as we press forwardwith this initiative which is in tandem with our franchise as aprofessional accountancy body.MANDATORY TRAINING FOR CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS7. Your Excellency, as part of their membership obligations, CharteredAccountants are required by the International Federation ofAccountants (IFAC), the global body that regulates the AccountancyProfession in 125 countries of the world, to annually attendaccredited capacity building programmes. This is both to up-skilltheir knowledge and re-equip them for the dynamics of theenvironment. Since knowledge becomes obsolete when not renewed,I therefore request your continued support for members of ourInstitute in your employment to meet this professional obligation byPage 5 of 7

nominating and sponsoring them to attend training programmeswhich will enable them earn the requisite mandatory continuingprofessional education credit hours. These programmes includeamongst others:• Annual Accountants’ Conference;• Zonal Accountants’ Conference;• ICAN Faculties Training Seminars and Workshops.• Members Continuing Education & Training Programmes of theInstitute.CONCLUSION11 Your Excellency although the task ahead is truly great, I ampersuaded that your administration is capable and poised to deliveron its promises to the good people of Abia State. I pray God tocontinue to give you the grace, good health and Solomonic wisdomto pilot the affairs of the state in Jesus name. Amen.Long live ICANLong live Abia State governmentLong live Federal Republic of NigeriaMr. Adedoyin Idowu Owolabi, BSc (Econs), MILR, MNIM, FCA48 th President, ICANJanuary 31, , 2013Page 6 of 7

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