Ican inducts 650 new members for transperancy
THE Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, ICAN, has
inducted 650 new members into the Association of Accounting Technicians,
West Africa, AATWA.
President of ICAN, Mallam Ismaila Zakari
Speaking at the 47th AATWA, Induction Ceremony in Lagos, President of
ICAN, Mallam Ismaila Zakari, urged the new members to live above board
while upholding the principles of accuracy and integrity.
Zakairi congratulated the 650 new AATWA members having qualified as
accounting technicians after the rigorous qualifying examination of the
institute, saying, “Accounting technicians are universally respected and
internationally recognised.”
I implore you to adhere strictly to the ethics and rules of professional
standard of AATWA and conduct yourselves as AATWA members.”
In her paper titled: “Behaving Ethically to Uphold Enduring Values,” Chief
Executive Officer, TOMAG Consulting, Mrs. Tope Omage, blamed
accountants for facilitating the looting of treasury, falsification of financial
records and budget padding.
Omage said: “Without accountants treasury won’t be looted successfully;
Financial records won’t be falsified without detection; Padding will be
exposed.”
She said that 74 percent of the fraud committed makes use of weak
internal controls, adding that KPMG’s Global Fraud Patterns showed that
40 percent of frauds are committed by people within the ages of 36 to 45;
85 percent by men; 82 percent by management (That is, 29 percent by
management, 35percent by senior management, 18 percent by the board);
90percent by people that have been with the company for over three years
(29 percent 3-5 years, 27percent 6-10 years, 33percent more than 10 years);
32percent by the finance department, 25percent by operations, and
26percent by the CEO’s office.
She stated: “Fraud encompasses a range of irregularities and illegal acts
characterized by intentional deception or misrepresentation, which an
individual knows to be false or does not believe to be true.
“Unfortunately, corruption is a cost of doing business. Bribery, a price,
reward, gift, or favour bestowed or promised with a view to pervert the
judgment of or influence the action of a person in a position of trust.
“Acting in ways consistent with what society and individuals typically think
is good values. Ethical behavior tends to be good for business and involves
demonstrating respect for key moral principles that include honesty,
fairness, equality, dignity, diversity and individual rights.
“Why should accountants be ethical? Finance and accounting are the
lifeline of companies, if the companies are formed to make money then the
stakeholders should be able to rely on the reports and that can only be
possible if the integrity of the persons are above board,” she said.
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