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Tag: ICAN

  • ICAEW, ICAN to strengthen accountancy profession

    The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), a leader in the global accounting and finance industry, and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen the accountancy profession in Nigeria.

    Both organisations have committed to work together to promote a sound and sustainable accounting and finance industry by sharing their knowledge, improving professional and intellectual development and advancing the number of members of accountancy bodies.

    The agreement was signed by ICAEW President Nick Parker and ICAN President Alhaji Isma’ila Muhammadu Zakari, during an official ceremony in Lagos.

    Speaking on the MoU, Alhaji Zakari said: “A strong financial sector is the backbone of any economy; so we look forward to working closely with ICAEW in future to develop a number of exciting initiatives and to share experiences and expertise for the benefit of the profession in Nigeria. It is essential to establish linkages of this nature so that both bodies will be able to leverage upon each other’s strengths.”

    Parker also said: “We are pleased to sign a mutually beneficial alliance with ICAN and are looking forward to aligning our visions and sharing our expertise to strengthen and support the development of the accountancy profession in Nigeria.”

  • Kano to partner ICAN on Accountants’ training

    Kano State Government is ready to partner with Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria ( ICAN ) to train accountants working with the state government.

    The state Governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, made this known yesterday,when members of Kano/Jigawa district society of ICAN paid him a courtesy visit at the Government House, Kano.

    ‎Ganduje said the state government would partner with the institute to have chartered accountants that would block leakages, boost revenue and move Kano State forward.

    He added that state government would enrol best ‎students to ICAN technician scheme to complement the work of senior accountants in the state.

    Ganduje said that his administration introduced Single Treasury Account (TSA) to block revenue leakages and boost the state’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).

    He noted that “since the restructuring of Kano Internal Revenue Service, our IGR has improved tremendously and we are making efforts to improve on the current figures.”

    The governor then presented land with Certificate of Occupancy to the institute to build secretariat.

    The Chairman of Kano/Jigawa district society of the institute, Alhaji Ado Abubakar‎, said ICAN was established in 1965 ‎and since then, it graduated 43,219 students and 22,595 accounting technicians.

    He said Kano/Jigawa chapter of the institute trained more than 300 accountants in the state, adding that the two branches built and donated lecture hall to Yusuf Maitama Sule University, Kano.

    He hailed the governor for introducing TSA and for making the state tax-based economy and for giving the institute land to build secretariat.

  • Idahosa varsity meets ICAN accreditation standards

    A team from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), under its Mutual Co-operative Agreement with Tertiary Institutions (MCATI), has visited the Benson Idahosa University (BIU) to assess the quality of its accounting programme.

    MCATI committee Chairman Chief Oye Akinsulire said the visit was to assess the techniques and materials used by the school to teach accounting students, to ensure that standards are maintained in knowledge dissemination.

    According to Akinsulire, the MCATI accreditation will allow 100-Level and 200-Level students of Accountancy to have five foundation  and six-skill level subjects exempted whenever they are writing their final ICAN examination.

    The exemption, he said, is aimed at deepening the standard of learning and equipping students with modern practice. Also, the graduates would sit for professional examinations where they would be required to write only five papers required for certification.

    Akinsulire said the team was satisfied with the school’s standards, noting that MCATI was required to keep the university in ICAN’s list of accredited institutions by continually meeting the minimum eligibility standard set by the professional body.

    He said: “The subject-per-subject assessment is one of the reasons that brought our team here. It is the responsibility of ICAN to be here to sign an agreement with you. Our task is to determine whether a university qualifies for the MCATI accreditation. Without mincing words, Benson Idahosa University has met the requirements.”

    The team praised lecturers of the Accounting Department for their dedication and commitment to standards, urging them to improve in their method of delivering the knowledge.

    The Vice-Chancellor (VC), Prof Ernest Izevbigie, hailed the ICAN team for “thorough assessment”, stating that the school had demonstrated capacity to impart knowledge.

    The VC said the collaboration with ICAN covered the university’s core areas in research, teaching and service. He expressed joy over the assessment and acknowledged the professionalism, which ICAN is known for.

    The Acting Head, Department of Accounting, Dr S.N. Ugbogbo, thanked the school management for its support, adding that its contribution had led to the success recorded by the department.

  • ICAN, others disagree over Forensic Bills

    The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and other groups yesterday disagreed over two bills -Bill for Chartered Institute of Forensic and Investigative Auditors (CIFIA), and the Bill for Chartered Institute of Forensic Accountants of Nigeria (CIFAN).

    The promoters of the two bills during a Senate public hearing said the main objective was to entrench forensic accounting and audit in financial investigations of public and private entities.

    This, according to them, would help in generating reports that could be tendered and admitted in court for the prosecution of financial crimes.

    Presenting their memoranda at the session, promoters of the CIFAN, Prof Usman Ali Awheela and CIFIA, Mrs. Victoria Ayishetu Enape complained that their members are not being allowed to practice forensic accounting and auditing as there was no enabling laws to that effect.

    Mrs. Enape said: “If the Bill for Chartered Institute of Forensic Accountants of Nigeria is passed, it will help Nigeria to have skilled professionals to deepen the fraud prevention, detection and preserve money in government treasury for infrastructural development that is fast disappearing in our country today.”

    She dismissed fears among stakeholders that the establishment of the proposed professional bodies would trigger conflict with ICAN and other existing accounting bodies.

    Also, Awheela argued that forensic accounting is the unique blend of education and experience in applying accounting, auditing skills and investigative techniques to uncover truth, form legal opinions in order to assist in litigation support.

    “Forensic accounting professionals provide assistance on cases which are primarily related to calculation and estimation of economic damages and related issues that include white-collar crimes,” Awheela added.

  • ICAN, Caleb Varsity sign MoU

    Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), under its Mutual Cooperative Agreement with Tertiary Institutions (MCATI), has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Accounting programme of Caleb University, Imota, Lagos.

    Addressing workers, management and students of the university, ICAN President Mr Mohammadu Zakari, said the deal would allow 200-Level undergraduates to have 11 subjects exemption when writing the final ICAN examination.

    According to him, five foundation and six skill level subjects would be exempted for the students. This initiative, Zakari hopes, would deepen the quality of Accounting profession, and develop technical competence and ethical skills among students.

    Going down memory lane, Zakari said ICAN which started with 215 members, currently boasts 42,283, and 22,592 chartered accountants and associate accounting technicians respectively, an attestation to its ethically committed professionals who are making the institution proud nationwide.

    “ICAN members hold very important positions in Nigeria. Therefore, the MoU we are signing is essentially a collaboration between Caleb University and ICAN, whereby the former’s syllabus will be integrated in line with the approved syllabus of its regulatory agency-National Universities Commission.” he said.

    Further, he said the MoU would also improve dissemination of accounting knowledge to students  to improve their accounting experience.

    He added that it contains 16 subjects broken down into three levels namely: Foundation, Skilled and Professional levels.

    “The syllabus covers a wide range of knowledge which an accountant is likely to encounter in the accounting world and it has a global accounting qualification.”

    With the MoU, Zakari is optimistic that Caleb University now ranks as one of the best for training accountants.

    The institution’s Vice Chancellor Prof Daniel Ayandiji, said Caleb University has embarked on deliberate path in building strong academic team by employing best brains in the industry, such as immediate past president of Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria, Prof  Teju Somorin and former Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria president, Prof Joseph Ajibola.

    Aina promised that Caleb University would fulfill its part of the bargain, adding that the institution trains its students both academically and professionally.

     

  • ICAN lauds Benson Idahosa University

    ICAN lauds Benson Idahosa University

    The 53rd President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Alhaji Ismaila Muhammadu Zakari, has ranked Benson Idahosa University’s Accounting programme as one of the best in the country.
    Alhaji Zakari made this declaration when he led a delegation of the professional Institute on a courtesy call to the University Management recently.
    The delegation expressed satisfaction and therefore endorsed the quality and standard of the programme at the University.
    According to tthe ICAN Chief, the University employs a lot of chartered accountants in the country and that’s why the students are performing exceptionally thereby enhancing the global competitiveness of the institution.
    “Since 2008 when the Accounting Department was first accredited, the Institute has had a cordial relationship with Benson Idahosa University.
    “Since then the University has maintained standards required to keep it in our list of accredited institutions for the proper teaching and learning of Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting. It is on record that many of your graduates of accounting have successfully completed professional examination of the Institute,” he said.
    Alhaji Zakari noted that the institute was established to set standards and regulate the practice of accounting in Nigeria, adding that the institute’s certification will help the accounting students of Benson Idahosa University become well-trained professional accountants.
    “As you are aware ICAN was established by the act of parliament in 1965 to set standards and regulate the practice of accountants in Nigeria, since then the institute has produced 43,293 chartered accountants and over twenty thousand accounting technicians who are very talented and committed; working in every sphere of the Nigeria economy and we are proud to say that many are graduates of this university.
    “Today ICAN members hold influential positions in Nigeria and around the world as business leaders, public administrators, academics, decision makers and trusted advisers,” he observed.
    The ICAN President also sued for increase in the partnership with the university.
    “This would ensure that graduates of Benson Idahosa University are offered preferential treatment with the institute’s professional examinations.”
    He emphasized that this partnership with the institute will allow graduates of the Accounting programme from Benson Idahosa University to be exempted from the 11 subjects in the first two stages (Foundation and Skills Levels) of the Institute’s three –stage professional examinations. The ICAN President in his remark singled out a Professor of Accounting in the university, Professor A.R. Anao.
    He thanked the Prof.  for his contribution to several accounting journals and practices in the country.
    In his remark, the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Prof. Sam Guobadia said the University will always conform to the standard of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria in the training of its students in the accounting profession.
    He lauded the institute saying it’s one of the foremost institutes in the country that has done wonderfully well. He acknowledged the level professionalism that ICAN has been identified with over time.
    The Acting Head, Department of Accounting, Benson Idahosa University, Dr. S.N Ugbogbo, said the department will continue to leverage on the good working relationship with the institute to produce credible accountants in the country He said the well-equipped departmental library and qualified lecturers contribute to the successful training of professionals in the field.
    The Departmental library of the University also received another boost with the donation of accounting textbooks by the Institute to the Department of Accounting. During the visit, the ICAN delegation also had an interactive session with the graduating students of Accounting. They were also given a guided tour round the University campus.
  • ICAN backs Edo Govt.’s reform, commitment to transparency

    ICAN backs Edo Govt.’s reform, commitment to transparency

    The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) has expressed its support for the initiatives aimed at reforming critical institutions in the Governor Godwin Obaseki-led administration of Edo State.

    The institute said that in addition to creating thousands of jobs, the initiatives are supporting the implementation of World Bank projects in the state.

    The 53rd President of ICAN, Alhaji Ismaila Muhammadu Zakari, gave the vote of confidence when he led a delegation of the Institute on a courtesy visit to the Edo State Government in Benin City, on Tuesday.

    Zakari said the prompt release of Edo financial reports on the SEEFOR project being executed by the World Bank and the prompt payment of salaries by the state government were commendable.

    “The World Bank implementation team has ranked Edo high in terms of SEEFOR implementation. We commend the state government for approving the sum of N500 million as counterpart funds for the Edo SEEFOR project. This will fast-track infrastructural development in the state,” Zakari said.

    The ICAN president noted that going by the developmental strides of the present administration in Edo State, the institute was ready to contribute ideas that would boost job creation in the state.

    He explained that ICAN has designed a mechanism called ICAN Accountability Index to assess the performance of governments or the public sector, and expressed optimism that the Edo State government would rank high going by its numerous initiatives aimed at reforming its institutions.

    In his response, Governor Obaseki said his administration is putting systems in place to ensure that government processes remain transparent.

    “In terms of making our local government councils self-sustaining, 15 out of the 18 LGAs in the state can pay their workers’ salaries and we believe that in three months’ time the remaining three will be able to do same,” he said.

    The governor who was represented by the Secretary to the Edo State Government, Osarodion Ogie Esq., said his administration appreciates the role of ICAN in achieving its goals, and has a good number of ICAN members as workers in the state.

    Obaseki assured of more collaborations with the institute in the government’s resolve to create an enabling environment for businesses to thrive in the state.

  • Senator tells ICAN to partner with National Assembly

    Senator tells ICAN to partner with National Assembly

    CHAIRMAN, Senate Committee on Local Content Senator Solomon Adeola has urged the President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria,( ICAN), Alhaji Ismaila Zakari and other members of the ICAN national council to initiate collaborative effort with the National Assembly for its institutional growth in the interest of the accountancy profession and the nation.

    In a goodwill message at a Gala Night to mark the 47th Annual Conference of ICAN at International Conference Centre, Abuja over the weekend, the Lagos West representative said there are about 40 members of ICAN in the 8th National Assembly.

    Adeola, in a statement by his media aide Kayode Odunaro, noted that ICAN should not find it difficult to canvass its position on matters relating to the accountancy profession and other accounting issues of importance to national growth.

    “I am a professional in politics like Gombe State Governor Alhaji Ibrahim Dankwambo. The institute should see us as their representatives in politics. There are many accounting issues that come up on the floor of both chambers of the National Assembly, including attempts to smuggle in rival accounting bodies through legislation.

    “As members of the institute, we need the official position of the institutes on most of these issues which can be adequately canvassed by members of the institute in the National Assembly,” the Fellow of ICAN stated.

    Adeola regretted that most of the time members of the institute had to scramble to kill ongoing consideration of bills proposing rival accounting organisations on the floor of the chambers without inputs from the institute.

    He added that a proliferation of accounting bodies in Nigeria will not augur well for the profession and its standing internationally, particularly in the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC).

  • Evbodaghe is ICAN’s registrar/CEO

    The Governing Council, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) has appointed John Irabor Evbodaghe  as its Registrar/ Chief Executive Officer while Dr. Ben Ukaegbu and Mukaila Lawal were appointed Deputy Registrars.

    John an Accountancy graduate of the Institute of Management and Technology (IMT), Enugu also holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree in Technology Management from Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi.

    Evbodaghe, a professional whose experience cuts across various sectors of the Nigerian economy is a highly focused, purpose driven and versatile administrator well versed in operations and strategic management.

  • ICAN donates N250m hall to varsity

    The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) has donated a 350-capacity lecture theatre, with state of the art facilities, to Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, Kaduna State. The hall is worth N250 million.

    At the handing over yesterday, the outgoing ICAN president, Titus Soetan, said the institute’s initiative to build the facility was born out of ABU’s commitment to strengthen accountancy education in Nigeria.

    The president said ABU is a beneficiary of ICAN’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) projects because of its contributions to the training of accountants and other allied professionals in the country.