ICAG President Address , at 26th Graduation And Admission Ceremony -Prof. K.B. Omane-Antwi
I warmly welcome you all to one of the important events on our calendar, this 26th Graduation and Admission ceremony. It is always a joy to participate in our graduation and admission ceremonies and to see all of you looking very beautifully dressed and accompanied by your family and loved ones.
It is indeed heartwarming to observe that more and more students are qualifying as chartered accountants and this is eventually translating into the steady growth of our membership strength.
This morning’s ceremony is in two parts. It involves the graduation of three hundred and ninety-four (394) students who successfully completed the CA professional programme in November last year and thirty-one (31) Accounting Technician Scheme of West Africa (popularly known as ATSWA) who successfully completed the programme in September 2015.
It also marks the apex in the lives of some of the graduands and members of foreign accountancy bodies who have successfully fulfilled either the Institute’s pre-qualification or post-qualification criteria for membership. Three hundred and sixty-four (364) qualified professional accountants will be formally admitted into ICAG’s membership as part of this ceremony.
The Institute is running similar programmes in Monrovia, Liberia as part of our twinning arrangement with Liberian Institute of Certified Public Accountants (LICPA). We are looking out for similar opportunities in the Gambia and beyond. Creating synergy across the African continent is for us an imperative. We are hopeful that we can continue to contribute to human capital development on the continent and across the sub-region.
Recently, the Institute chalked a remarkable feat by fulfilling one of the items indicated in the presidency’s agenda for its two-year tenure which ends in May 2016. The Association of Women Accountants in Ghana AWAG), responded positively to the challenge thrown at them and successfully organized International Federation of Women Accountants (IFWA) maiden international conference, in Accra two weeks ago.
The conference had as its theme, “Building stronger institutions to mitigate corruption – development from the bottom up – the role of the professional woman.” Two hundred and sixty-two (262) delegates from Benin, Botswana, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, South Africa, Malawi, Mali, Zambia and host country Ghana participated in the conference.
Some of the issues that emerged from the conference showed clear evidence that corruption is a thief of opportunities and that professional accountants in member countries must take concrete efforts to stamp out corruption in their countries. In some cases, a number have put their jobs at risk in their bid to sanitizing institutional processes and procedures. There was a call at the conference for the establishment of a fund in support of “casualties” who take a hard stand against corruption. This is a worth while idea that should be considered by the next Council of ICAG.
As a country, we are not exempt from making our views known within our context in our bid to stamp out the canker. As a further step in the right direction, last year, we published press releases addressing topical national issues such as the IMF bail-out and the physical cash that was flown out to Brazil for the Black Stars Team.
The advocacy role of the Institute is still evolving and calls for us to live above reproach. It will come to a time, when key accountancy positions will have membership of the Institute as a mandatory requirement. Malawi has already set the pace. It is now mandatory for employees in top management positions to belong to the Malawian Institute. A recent scandal that hit that nation saw its members exonerated from any wrongdoing. An indication that professional affiliation serves as a benchmark for business ethics.
The next challenge I wish to throw to our dear women accountants is a call to rise from obscurity and take up the mantle of leadership as watchdogs and gatekeepers. In 2012, Grant Thornton’s International Business Report findings revealed that, 39% of senior management roles in Botswana were held by women, representing a 7% increase from 2011’s 32%. This placed Botswana second in the league table drawn up by Grant Thornton. The continued rise of female senior management in Botswana shows a real confidence from investors and business owners in the skills and leadership abilities of women in the country. This story can hold true for women in Ghana, if and only if, they will be willing to break out of their mold, rise above inhibiting circumstance and climb up the corporate ladder against the odds.
Women accountants in Ghana must be empowered to ensure a heavenly rise in leadership roles of women in business, industry and every sector of the economy.
Talking about empowering women in Africa, a participant from Nigeria in the IFWA conference lamented that some men of God are unduly taking advantage of women in their churches and that it is high time women stand up against this unfortunate situation. We find the matter equally true in Ghana with some men of God who have turned their churches into houses of merchandise selling all kinds of ‘spiritual materials’ at exorbitant prices to our poor women in the name of God without paying taxes for the development of Ghana. I believe it is high time sanity is brought to bear in the said practices as done in some advanced countries by establishing a Charity Commission to control practices of various churches particularly to ensure that they have the churches’ accounts prepared and audited annually to be accountable to the church members. The Charity Commission can also ensure that human rights abuses in churches are brought to a halt by seeing to it that culprits of such abuses are duly prosecuted by the law courts. Women Accountants in Ghana should arise and enlighten our mothers and the younger generation in this perilous time.
Today, the working environment has become a global village. You have to think outside the box and recognize that competition has assumed international dimensions. Build up your knowledge base and capacity, while recognizing that there is a world beyond Ghana. Read widely, bearing in mind that the day opportunity comes knocking, you must be good and ready to grab it. Graduation and admission is just a stepping-stone. There are more laurels to be won, more mountains to climb and more rivers to cross.
Identify your potential and maximize it. Great achievers always talk about magnifying their office. Success can be achieved by taking pride in your work, recognizing it as a ministry and working with all your might despite the many trials and adversities that you may encounter. Simply, we need to take pride in whatever capacity we find ourselves. Go the extra mile and always set your sights on striving for excellence, never on mediocrity.
In the same vein, I admonish you to be cautious of material pleasures.
Solomon, a great biblical figure and king, was cynical and even consumed in his many great accomplishments. It is said that he built the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem and brought his kingdom to new heights of power and prosperity.
“All is vanity,” he writes: “What profit has man in all his toil that he toils under the sun? . . . All things are wearisome. . . . What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 1:14)
Solomon experiments with material pleasures as a way to seek happiness, but finds them wanting. Instead, he offers us three ways to be fulfilled.
- The first is the satisfaction from being good at what we do: “There is nothing better,” he says, “than that a man should rejoice in his works.”
- The second is being trusted: “A good name,” he says, “is better than precious oil.”
- Third, he urges us to be committed to those principles that we hold paramount, so that we organize our lives around what we believe.
Well, chartered accountants who are true to their beliefs and committed to making the world a better place will always be busy and challenged. As Gandhi said, “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” I am talking about integrity, the motto of our great Institute.
Remember that fundamental to a profession is the obligation of its members to maintain the highest standards of ethical conduct and public concern. Public concern extends to the concerns of clients, government, financial institutions, employers, employees, investors, the business and financial community and others who rely on the objectivity and integrity of the accounting profession to support the propriety and orderly functioning of commerce. This reliance imposes a public interest responsibility on the profession. Investors, creditors, employers and other sectors of the business community, as government and the public at large, rely on the soundness of reporting by the profession and its impact on the economic well-being of their community and country.
I therefore urge you to stretch your faith to the sticking point. Again, break out of your mold, your mindset and dream big, envision your end and do your utmost to reach the peak. I can assure you that eventually you will succeed even in the face of drawbacks and misfortune. Remain resolute and keep a steady focus. The sky is your limit. In fact, my grand daughter of 11 years of age informed me recently that since, man has invaded planet Pluto, the sky is no more our limit rather planet Pluto is our
Limit. And so, go on and ‘plutonised’ your lives.
In conclusion, my hearty congratulations to all the graduands and we are ready to receive our new members into our fold. May you achieve great successes in all your endeavours and become a beacon of hope in your generation.
As I step down in May 2016 as your president, let me leave you with one of my favourite quotations: “make some money but don’t let money make you” – African proverb from Tanzania.
Thank you for your attention.
PROF. K.B. OMANE-ANTWI
ICAG PRESIDENT
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