British accountants to develop accountancy expertise in Africa and Asia
11 Apr 2014 02:55 PM
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:
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
- 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).
- 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
- 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.