The Director-General, Onitsha Business School, Prof. Olusegun Sogbesan, has charged chartered accountants in the country to uphold ethical standards of the profession, considering their crucial role in society.
Sogbesan made the call at the investiture of Dr Anthony Anyadufu as the 10th Chairman of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Awka District and Society, on Sunday. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Anyadufu succeeded Mr Francis Ezenwa.
He was inaugurated by the National President of the body, Mallam Haruna Yahaya, represented by a member of the council, Chibuzo Anyanechi. Sogbesan said it is imperative for ICAN members to uphold the tenets and principles of their profession in order to effectively carry out their mandate of resource management, allocation and utilisation of public funds.
He contended that accountants were crucial in every society because they formulate and implement fiscal policies as well as evaluate performance in the private and public sectors. The theme of the investiture lecture was the “Role of Accountants in Nation Building and Economic Development”.
The don said that Nigeria was facing economic challenges “either because accountants are not doing their work or the people in authority are not listening to them”.
According to him, it is not enough for accountants to have the certification but they should complement it with the ethical principles of the profession. “They must uphold ethical standards and transparency to ensure fiscal responsibility,” Sogbesan said.
In an acceptance speech, Anyadufu promised to build on the foundation laid by his predecessors, prioritise welfare of members by making the district’s multipurpose cooperative functional and establish a Society for Women Accountants.
He said his team would promote the ICAN brand in Awka to make members of the profession more relevant and engage in capacity building for members through regular trainings and corporate collaboration.
“Our administration shall organise ‘catch them young programmes’, sponsor academic prizes for Best in Financial Accounting and partner the Anambra Internal Revenue Service in tax awareness campaigns in secondary schools,” he said.
Anyadufu appreciated the last Presidents of the district for their contributions towards the growth of the body in Awka and solicited their continued support.
Some prominent accountants, including Sogbesan, Ezenwa, Chief Ekene Enefe, Mrs Obianuju Okoli, and Mr Tim Okafor, were bestowed with various awards at the event for their contributions to the accounting profession, Awka district and society in general.
