The Nigerian Accountant 2012 October/December Edition

News/Eventsleft in Enugu State which is under-staffed.” He also commendedthe performance of ICAN members in the state civil service, sayingthat ICAN members in government service make the state proudthrough the way they discharge their duties.In an address delivered earlier, the ICAN President, Mr. DoyinOwolabi, said that apart from seeking interaction with members toknow about their welfare and challenges, the essence of his visitto the State was to assess how members had been supportingthe state government in line with the public interest mandate ofthe accountancy profession.The President applauded the transformation agenda of theState government which he said had not only improved civility ofthe citizen but had also engendered infrastructural transformation.He expressed the Institute’s willingness to partner with theState government in the area of capacity building through TheInstitute’s Student’s Special Project (SSP). He also expressedappreciation to the governor for providing a plot of land to ICANEnugu District Society to facilitate the building of a Secretariat.Aregbesola Tasks ICAN onInvolvement of AccountantsIn FraudsThe Governor of Osun State, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, haschallenged The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria(ICAN) to tackle the involvement of some professional accountantsin some celebrated unethical conducts which are quite worrisome.This call was contained in a speech he delivered while hostingthe 48 th President of ICAN, Mr. Adedoyin Owolabi who was ontour of Osun State District Society of ICAN.The Governor who noted incidents of poor corporategovernance and deliberate fraudulent practices such as thereported oil subsidy scandal, police pension misappropriation,said, effort was needed from professionals like the charteredaccountants to correct these anomalies.His words, ‘I am hereby challenging your noble Institute tolook into this urgently with a view to coming up with propositionsmeant to ensure a robust and meaningful financial framework andmonitoring mechanism of same. The masses are looking up toyou and of course you cannot afford to let us down’.While thanking the governor for engaging charteredaccountants in his cabinet as Commissioner for Finance andCommerce as well as Special Advisers, the ICAN Presidentadvised him to deliver the dividends of democracy to the peopleof the state efficiently and at minimal cost. He therefore assuredhim that The Institute would not lower its standard in terms ofservice delivery.SIAO Is a Bridge Between Smalland Big Firms — OwolabiThe 48 th ICAN President, Doyin Owolabi has described SIAOPartners, a firm of Chartered Accountants, as a bridge betweensmall and big firms. He stated this at The Institute’s Secretariat,Victoria Island, Lagos, while playing host to the firm’s five-mandelegate led by its Principal Partner, Pastor Ituah Ighodalo, duringa courtesy visit.He said, “SIAO has come of age and I am proud to identifywith you being a strong representative of my generation in theprofession. In view of your composition, a convergence of solepractices to form more robust and stronger practice, you arelike a bridge between the big and the small firms”. He said tohis visitors: “You have simply carried out IFAC’s policy whichencourages the merger of weak smaller firms to form strong andvibrant practice and discourages the acquisition of these smallfirms by the big ones”.Responding, Pastor Ighodalo said, “this is the very first officialvisit of SIAO to ICAN and we are here to congratulate DoyinOwolabi on his investiture as the 48 th President of our Institute”.Further he said, “we are also here to introduce SIAO to TheInstitute, discuss issues that are germane to ICAN and Nigeria,proffer suggestions and lend full support to The Institute in everyarea we can”. He noted that the discrimination against local firmsand preference for foreign ones had reached the roof top evenat the Federal level. This he said was adverse to the growth oflocal firms and therefore urged The Institute to call for unbiasedtreatment and fair competition to engender growth of local firms.He also advised that ICAN should make more comments andcontribution to the national budget.ICAN Membership Is NotDiscriminatory, Says Doyin OwolabiThe 48 th President of the Institute, Mr Doyin Owolabi,has tried to disabuse the students of the Departmentof Management Accounting, Ladoke Akintola University ofTechnology, Ogbomosho, of the erroneous belief that ICANexamination is difficult and meant for certain categories of people.He did this during an interactive session organised by membersof ICAN Ogbomosho/Oyo & District Society during his tour of theDistrict. He said: “Membership of ICAN is open to all categoriesof people regardless of their race, ethnic and socio-economicbackground as long as such individuals are able to prove beyondreasonable doubt that he/she are worthy of the certificate.”Owolabi also encouraged the students to take advantage ofICAN Scholarship Scheme and embrace a flourishing career inthe Accountancy Profession.In a related development, the President also disclosed thatthe relationship between ICAN and ANAN was cordial. Hemade this statement when he paid a courtesy visit to the ActingVice-Chancellor of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology(LAUTECH), Ogbomosho, Professor Adeniyi SulaimonGbadegesin, who was represented by the Provost of College ofHealth Sciences, Professor Ayoade Adesokan.Owolabi recalled that two years ago, when Association ofNational Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN) applied for membershipof the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), theumbrella body for all Accountancy Bodies around the world,ICAN sponsored and mentored the Association in line with theIFAC guidelines. He said; “ICAN is now playing the role of a bigbrother to ANAN and as a result, the relationship between thetwo bodies has been cordial”.The ICAN President also used the opportunity to urge theLAUTECH management to take advantage of the variousTHE NIGERIAN ACCOUNTANT October/December, 201258