16 Aug 2018

Botswana needs a well regulated accountancy profession for her to score well on any international governance index.

This was said by Deputy Permanent Secretary to the President Mr Elias Magosi at the 10^th Botswana Institute of Chartered Accountants biennial conference  in Gaborone on August 15. 

He said perceptions of strong performance in governance matters led to good credit ratings and increased investor confidence. 

Therefore,  he said, it was imperative that the profession maintained public trust which  could only be guaranteed by a strong, predictable, transparent and consistent regulatory framework.

Mr Magosi reminded accountancy professionals that their profession was important in the protection of public interest which could only be achieved through staying morally and ethically upright at all times. 

“We are all aware that every profession needs a code of ethics and strong compliance monitoring mechanisms, and in this respect BICA is no exception to this cardinal rule,” he said. 

He said a well regulated accountancy profession whose members observed high ethical standards was key to stamping out corruption and prevention of financial crimes. 

Mr Magosi called upon Botswana Professional Accountancy Qualification (BICA) to diligently address the shortage of citizen qualified chartered accountants in the country.

In this regard, he urged BICA to continue working with institutions such as the Department of Tertiary Education Financing (DTEF), to support and sponsor students pursuing the BICA qualification.  

He said it was notable that the institute was developing the technical capacity of government through an accounting curriculum focused on the public sector. 

Mr Magosi implored other stakeholders to come on board to assist government.

For her part, BICA president Ms Gosego Motsamai said it continued to make strides as it was currently among the 21 African countries which had adopted full International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

Further, she said Botswana Accountancy Oversight Authority (BAOA) was in 2017 appointed by the Pan African Federation of Accountants (PAFA) to serve in the Africa Integrated Reporting Committee (AIRC) to facilitate the adoption of integrated reporting in Botswana and Africa as a whole.

“This is a positive move for the local accountancy profession as the learnings from these interactions will improve capacity among local accountants and further improve BICA’s international standing,” she said.

Ms Motsamai said BICA has a total membership of 4 411 comprising 3 103 accounting technicians and 1 308 professional accountants. Of the 1 308 professionals, only 598 were citizens, she said.

She also warned unregistered accountants that penalties would be imposed for failure to register. 

“We strongly believe that the amendment of the Accountants Act 2010 which is in the pipeline will make our work of bringing culprits to book much easier,” she said.

The two-day conference was held under the theme; The Role of an Accountant in the Changing World.

Topics covered included block chain technology and its impact on the financial and business world, impact of social media in today’s business and a framework for responding to non-compliance with laws and regulations. ENDS