MBOMBELA – The South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (ICPAK) in an effort to accelerate the development of the accountancy profession in Africa, as well as to foster a commitment to lifelong learning among professional accountants.
Aimed at cementing existing relations and fruitful co-operation between the two institutes, the agreement sets out to facilitate a two-way collaborative effort to provide continuing professional development for resident members of both organsiations.
It means that Chartered Accountants South Africa [CAs(SA)] resident in Kenya will have access to lifelong learning services provided by ICPAK and SAICA would return the gesture to ICPAK members who are resident in South Africa.
According to SAICA, the agreement is in accordance with the International Education Standard (IES) for Professional Accountant No 7 Continuing Professional Development (CPD), effective from January 1 2006, which requires member bodies to foster a commitment to lifelong learning among their professional accountants by providing opportunities and resources for such learning. It also requires the member bodies to enrich their members with up-to-date information in the profession.
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SAICA CEO Terence Nombembe says the collaboration is a positive step towards achieving the strategic objectives of the African Renaissance aimed at ensuring socio-economic growth in the continent that is driven and delivered by Africans.
“As professionals, we have a vital and indispensable role in contributing to sustainable economic development in emerging markets, particularly in financial capacity-building and encouraging foreign direct investment in our continent. The growth of every economy hinges on how judiciously resources are managed,” he explains, adding that Africa will only develop if the different professions commit to sharing skills.
Speaking on behalf of the ICPAK, Edwin Makura, Acting CEO said the accounting profession could make a real contribution towards ensuring that African businesses and public sectors are appropriately capacitated to deal with their many challenges. He also stressed the imperative of the accounting profession embracing the concept of ‘accountants without borders’.
