Accountants asked to take part in decision making for their countries

Accountants all over Africa have been implored to be part of the efforts to find lasting solutions to problems facing the continent including youth unemployment and poverty among others.

Speaking at the 2018 Association of Chartered Certified Accountants annual conference at the Speke Resort and conference centre in Munyonyo,the Zambian Minister for works and Supply,Felix Mutati said there are many challenges hindering Africa’s development but noted that many people including accountants have not taken part in efforts to solve them.

Many challenges like  youth unemployment, environmental degradation, trade conflicts between Western and Eastern superpowers impacting volume and pricing of African exports, inadequate foreign exchange reserves and the poor implementation culture  are affecting the African continent but many people have not come up to help solve them,”Mutati said.

“Why should accountants wait for the national budget to be read and start giving post-mortem analysis about what could have been done better, instead of being involved in the budget creation process?”

The Zambian Works Minister said accountants, just like other people should stop being shy and penetrate the public sector which is the biggest engine of public resource so as to create a lasting impact.

He charged them not to let purely accounting issues be decided by economists or worse, politicians with no background in accounts.

Beatrice Isagayite, the head of ACCA Uganda reiterated the call for growth in membership adding that professional accountants are playing an important role in meeting the demands for both private and the public sector.

She said the growth in membership for professional accountants would greatly help to impact on organizations and countries.

“Through our qualification, we are developing dynamic and professional accountants, who are strategic forward thinkers, and equipping people with real world expertise they need to make an immediate impact in all types of organizations, be they public or private,”Bagayite said.

She said that a new reported released recently ACCA titled, “The Sustainable Development Goals: Redefining context, risk and opportunity in Africa” would greatly help provide a new prosperity creation framework for government, businesses and society to adhere to.

A number of key personalities including tourism enthusiast Amos Wekesa and gas and oil expert Enerst Rubondo also gave key note addresses during the two day convention that brought together certified accountants and finance professionals from various sectors.

This year’s conference was based on the theme; “Human, financial and natural capital; enablers of sustainable development.”