WIREDGOV

The UK will help improve financial management and investment climates of developing countries by sharing British expertise and international best practice. 

Teams of British accountants will help transform accounting standards and develop professional accountancy institutes in Africa and Asia, International Development Secretary Justine Greening has announced.

The UK will deploy staff from chartered accountancy institutes to developing countries such as Zambia, Nigeria and Ethiopia to improve their financial management and investment climates by sharing British expertise and international best practice.

Announced following a round-table meeting at DFID yesterday, the Department also committed £4.5 million to the International Federation of Accountants to help up to 10 partner countries in Africa and Asia, develop international-standard professional accountancy institutes of their own.

Justine Greening, International Development Secretary said:

The UK’s financial sector is second to none and its skills and experience can boost development across the world.

By helping developing countries to manage their own resources better and attract investment we can create the jobs and growth needed to lift people out of poverty.

The first deployments of chartered accountants through DFID’s Investment Facility for Utilising Specialist Expertise will begin in May 2014. They will include teams from:

• The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) who will train the Ethiopian Ministry of Education in accountancy practice. Overtime, this training will ensure more officials are trained in international professional standards.
• The Institute of Chartered Accountants England and Wales (ICAEW)who will review Zambia’s audit regulation to ensure it complies with latest international accounting systems; and
• The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) who will train several government bodies in Nigeria to stop corruption in government procurement.

On request from DFID partner countries, teams are deployed on short term assignments to support efforts to improve financial management in both the public and private sector.

Fayez Choudhury, Chief Executive of IFAC said:

IFAC has a long history of working to build capacity and strengthen PAOs as part of our public interest mission, and we are delighted about this significant next step in that journey.

Well-functioning PAOs ensure a sustainable supply of professional accountants that support high-quality accounting practices and financial information in both the public and private sectors. They support enhanced confidence in business and transparency in use of public funds, giving rise to increased foreign investment and donor funding and improved government accountability and transparency—and therefore are essential to economic growth and stability.

CIPFA’s Director of Strategy and Development, Alan Edwards said:

CIPFA is thrilled to be launching its first DFID IFUSE project in Nigeria.

Our work there will equip ogvernment officials with the knowledge and skills they need to better protect the public purse from fraud and misappropriation and ensure that valuable government resources are spent well and where they are most needed.

CIPFA’s focus is on sound public financial management as the foundation of financial stability and economic growth. If, through projects such as IFUSE, we can improve the way public money is spent it will have a profound and lasting impact on the lives of individuals and on the business environment across the world.

ACCA Chief Executive, Helen Brand OBE, said:

ACCA is excited by the opportunity to work in partnership with the Ethiopian Ministry of Education through the IFUSE initiative. We will not only be helping Ethiopian organisations to comply with global financial reporting and auditing standards, which we believe will encourage greater trade and investment opportunities, but will also be working with lecturers to ensure there are future generations of qualified finance professionals.

ICAEW Chief Executive Michael Izza, said:

ICAEW has already delivered thirty five similar projects in markets including Malawi, Tanzania, Nigeria and Bangladesh, so we know this kind of project can improve the investment climate and growth prospects of frontier economies. This new £5 million fund recognises the value of a strong, robust accounting profession in economic development. Today we’re announcing a new project in Zambia, helping the national profession to strengthen auditing standards and regulation.

Mark Farrar, Chief Executive of The Association of Accounting Technician’s said:

I am convinced that better accounting practices will help developing countries build on the remarkable economic progress they have made in recent years.

Having confidence that their money will be properly accounted for will encourage even more investors to build businesses that create much needed jobs in Africa.

Notes to editors

1. The 5 UK chartered accountancy institutes are part of the IFUSE programme, ACCA, ICAEW, CIPFA, Chartered Institute of Management Accounts (CIMA), and Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS).
2. The following countries are covered by IFUSE: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Burma, DR Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Nepal, Nigeria, Occupied Palestinian Territories, Pakistan, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Uganda, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia and Zimbabwe
3. IFAC will help build international-standard professional accountancy institutes in up to 10 DFID partner countries (as above). The 5 UK chartered accountancy institutes and the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) are all members of IFAC.