THE NEXT 50 YEARS OF PROFESSIONAL ACCOUNTING PRACTICE:

MAKING ICAN GLOBALLY RELEVANT

ABSTRACT

The roles and responsibilities of accountancy professionals have been forever dynamic.

Right from the most elementary forms in the medieval ages, we have witnessed a

constant transition in skill requirements and core competencies.

ICAN has been a major voice at the forefront of this, lending credence to the Nigerian-

trained accountant’s claim to global relevance in the professional arena. It has, over

the 50 years of its existence, produced accountants that the world has no choice but to

reckon with, and recognize in the scheme of things.

Nonetheless, 21st century dynamics imposed on the profession have made it important

that the global professional accountant step out of his traditional roles and functions,

taking up more consulting and business advisory responsibilities, with an eye for

technological competence. ICAN certainly has a role to play in ensuring that its

members evolve alongside. Its work is indeed far from done.

This essay has proposed a way out. To achieve global relevance in the next 50 years,

ICAN has to forge strategic global partnerships, train and retrain its members, ensure

that the nexus between practice and the industry is maintained, and regulate its

tuition.

Key Words: Professional accountant, ICAN, global.

Word count: 189 words.

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INTRODUCTION

Benjamin Franklin, (1706-1790) famously declared;

“An investment in knowledge (and training) pays the best interest”.

How true! To remain relevant in the ever-changing scheme of things, today’s

professional accountant has to choose between quite a number of finance priorities.

Globally, professional accountancy bodies are fashioning out strategies to meet this

need, and ICAN must not be lost on this.

THE PROFESSIONAL ACCOUNTANT: HISTORY AND CURRENT REALITIES

The ancient Babylonian and Egyptian empires sealed their respective places in the

annals of history when they evolved systems, which have widely come to be regarded as

“Accounting” in our present dispensation. In these systems, accounts were kept for

taxation, storage and disbursements. Periodic reports (audits) were made to local,

regional and national rulers on the ways and means of the state and the treasury. This

was accounting in its most rudimentary form, which nonetheless required some level of

training. The advent of the 15th century saw a major breakthrough in accounting theory

and practice; as a direct consequence of expanding commerce across Europe, Luca

Pacioli, an Italian clergyman published his celebrated “Summa de Aritmetica, Geometria,

Proportionalite et Proportionalita”. This volume set out the principles of the double

entry system of accounting and heralded an era of enhanced interest in accounting

theory and practice.

Since the periods subsequent to the World War, there has been a paradigm shift in the

accountant’s skill requirements, roles and responsibilities especially with the advent of

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computational and communication devices, which have revolutionized data analysis

and processing.

The growth in size and complexity of firms, institutions, production and taxation has

underscored the need for the 21st century accountant to step out of his traditional role

of data gathering, recording and reporting, to one that entailed in-depth analysis and

processing of financial information. He is expected to take on the roles of financial and

business advisor, a manager of financial and other production resources. By virtue of his

training, he is seen as possessing the skills to avert business failure and restructure

businesses; he has the ability to contribute to public policy and provide assurance on an

entity’s financial statements and other matters. In all of this, societal expectations are

that he is an ethical individual, upholding the professional virtues of integrity,

independence, objectivity, transparency and confidentiality, due to the nature of his

work. Globally, all of these require extensive training from a recognized professional

accountancy body.

ICAN: THE BEST OF NIGERIA

The seed that is today, the nationally, and indeed globally acclaimed Institute of

Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) was sown when The Association of Accountants

in Nigeria (AAN) was formed in 1960 with the primary objective of building capacity for

accountants in the new sovereign nation of Nigeria. With Chief Akintola Williams, (who

is today widely regarded as the Doyen of Accountancy in Nigeria) Chief Oladipo

Cuthbert Coker, and a few other leading accountants who had undergone a training in

the United Kingdom at the forefront of the campaign, the Institute was eventually

created by an Act of Parliament No. 15 of 1 September 1965 from existing accounting

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and auditing organizations including the AAN. At inception, membership size was a

mere 250 individuals.

The Vision of the founding fathers was clear: “to be the global leading professional

accountancy body”. Saddled therefore, with a mission to produce excellent Chartered

Accountants, regulate and continually enhance their ethical standards and technical

competence in the public interest, Williams and his lieutenants set to work.

Today, 50 years down the line, ICAN has come of age.

The Nigerian Stock Exchange was established post-independence in 1960, through the

tireless work of Akintola Williams and some other notable Nigerians. Since inception to

the present day, members of the Institute have held several management positions on

the bourse.

In 1982, precisely on the 9th day of September, the Nigerian Accounting Standards Board

was established, with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria leading out in

terms of contribution to the issue and publication of Accounting standards on the one

hand, but also promoting its application and serving as a compliance enforcer on the

other hand. Even today, the role of ICAN in FRCN is quite central (the NASB was

eventually repealed in 2010, and replaced by the FRCN).

Members of the Institute have as well held key positions on the Board of international

accountancy bodies such as the IFAC, ACCA, playing particularly important roles in the

establishment of the Accountancy Bodies of West Africa (ABWA) and the recently

established Pan African Federation of Accountants (PAFA).

The Central Bank of Nigeria is today the sole custodian and regulator of the Federal

government’s monetary policy, making policies that have far-reaching impacts on the

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Nigerian populace. Established prior independence in July 1958, it has also played host

to several ICAN trained accountants at the helm of its affairs. One of such is Mr. Joseph

Sanusi, who was Governor during the regime of President Ibrahim Babangida. Aside the

Central Bank, ICAN members have also been, at various times, head of National

Economic Fora, (Mr. Oluseyi Bickersteth of KPMG Nigeria is Vice-Chairman of the

Nigerian Economic Summit Group) Tax and Medium-Term Economic Fora. They also

are top government functionaries, such as Ministers or Accountant/Auditor Generals of

States and the Federation.

Several members who had their basic accountancy training in Nigeria can now lay claim

to owning practicing licences and work permits even in highly developed countries such

as the United Kingdom and United States of America. The efforts of ICAN in keeping its

certification at par with global requirements (the ICAN/ICAEW partnership comes to

mind here) have paid off, as local, regional and international employability/mobility has

been ensured.

From the foregoing, ICAN has worked assiduously to ensure the global relevance of the

Nigerian-trained professional accountant, one who formulates policies to decide the

future and direction of industry and government, sometimes influencing the economic

destiny of a whole nation. However, it is pertinent to note that this work is far from

done, as the profession is a dynamic one, and to keep up with the spate of changes,

evolution is inevitable.

PREPARING FOR THE FUTURE

By the year 2020, the ACCA estimates that the extent of expansion in commercial and

governmental activities would require 9.3 million accountants. This implies that our

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world is becoming increasingly uncertain and almost every aspect of the economy,

business and the accountancy profession has to keep up with the constant transition.

The Enron Scandal of 2002 and stock market crash of 2007-2009 and the resulting

economic depression have brought to the fore, the need for accountants to be solution

providers to a variety of business problems in the economic space. In the new

dispensation therefore, the professional accountant would have to build specialized

skills and take on the roles of financial & business programmer/analyst, to help

organizations stay ahead of uncertainty. Corporate reporting is certainly no longer

about reporting turnover and bottom-line, but environmental and social responsibility,

governance and risk, and overall organizational strategy. The professional accountant

has to evolve with times, or as Charles Darwin posited, go into extinction!

According to a research report publish by Intuit in 2011, the accounting profession and

its professionals would be influenced by far-reaching trends, which would conceptually

change the “how” and “what” of accountants’ function. The trends were categorized

into four fundamental areas; the evolving business environment that create new

opportunities for specialization; demographic shifts that change the face of

professionals and clients; technology changes to the accounting profession, which

emphasizes the use of data for decision-making and High-Tech, which enhances high-

touch client outreach, relationships and service.

Some of these trends are gaining on our profession already. The bottom-line is therefore

obvious; this age would be technology savvy, and the professional accountant needs to

beef up his IT portfolio, to survive and thrive.

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THE IMPERATIVES: ROLE OF ICAN

ICAN has its work cut out. Professional accountants lay claim to membership of globally

recognized accountancy bodies. It is therefore not enough that ICAN maintain the

status-quo as a colossus in the Nigerian accounting space. It must produce globally

relevant accountants. Although, I earlier established the need for IT competence, several

other issues exist which must be put into focus. I have therefore outlined several

strategies, which should form part of ICAN’s approach to the future.

Partnerships and Strategic Alliances

The need for globally focused alliances as a key ingredient in our overall global

competitiveness drive should be underscored. Take a cue from ACCA. The turn of the

new millennium was one period in which strategic decisions affecting the future of the

accountancy body were taken. A BSc (Hons) in Applied Accounting programme was

launched in partnership with Oxford Brookes University in 1999, and then in 2001 an

exclusive MBA programme was inaugurated, in alliance with the same institution.

Diplomas in International Financial Reporting (DipIFR) and Corporate Governance

(DipCG) were also introduced. That year, ACCA announced record student registration

numbers. Leveraging on the fact that the ICAN qualification is now recognized in the UK,

the Institute should be able to pull through one of such collaborations with

internationally recognized tertiary institutions. Enter partnerships with global IT firms,

to chart a course for our IT competence drive, similar to what obtains globally.

Continuing Professional Development

One of the most effective ways of ensuring that professional accountants stay abreast of

contemporary research and development is via continuous training and retraining.

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This ensures the global relevance of the accountant, as he is consistently fed with the

latest industry and business trends affecting the profession. This is perhaps one matter

that requires effusive commendation for ICAN. The introduction of Faculties, to serve as

reservoirs of knowledge on technically knotty practice issues, and the requirement for

each financial member to avail themselves of at least one faculty per annum is indeed

praiseworthy. Aside the Annual Accountants’ Conference and a plethora of conferences

organized by the Institute, the recent establishment of the MCPE (Mandatory

Continuing Professional Education) and CPE (Continuing Professional Education)

platforms for members and non-members respectively, as a means of ensuring that

professional accountants in Nigeria have a forum to consider research and policy in

their field at least once annually, is noteworthy. Quite unfortunately, only minute

fractions of ICAN members take advantage of these professional development fora.

Inasmuch as they recognize that these are designs to help keep skills and experience up-

to-date, a major challenge remains the exhausting and busy schedules of many an

accountant. Therefore, ICAN must take concrete proactive steps to solicit, on behalf of

its members for sponsorship and discharge by their organizations, to attend these

conferences. If the objectives, as well as the penalties of non-attendance at these fora

are properly communicated to the organizations, I believe that businesses would adjust,

and before long begin to see them as pertinent to the development of their accounting

and finance functions. These should also serve as veritable platforms for introducing the

latest IT skills and competencies, so the accountants can serve the role of change maker

for their respective organizations. ICAN could as well champion the enactment of

legislation in this regard.

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Qualitative Research & Thought Leadership

As it is with virtually all other service-oriented professions, the accounting profession is

made up of three parts: research, policy and practice. Therefore, within the broad

profession of accounting there needs to be more communication and coordination

between practitioners, policy makers and academic researchers.

The importance of the relationship between the gown and practice cannot be

undermined, as research is vital to the success of professionals.

Professional associations have an important role to play, in not only transmitting

academic research findings to practitioners, but also undertaking funding for, or

arranging financial support for practice-focused research. One way to achieve this is to

collaborate with government and the organized private sector to sponsor publication of

quality research in internationally reputable accountancy, finance and management

journals, and champion paper presentations at conferences, home and abroad. This

effectively places the Nigerian-trained accountant on the global radar. The step taken by

ICAN to endow professorial chairs in Nigerian universities is laudable. However, we

must recognize that in our drive to attain and maintain global relevance within the next

50 years, our task is far from accomplished. Joint seminars between academics and

practitioners are likely to enhance the relevance of academic research to practitioners

and more direct contact between academics and practitioners would improve the

quality of academic research. ICAN should consider investing in more of such platforms

(the first formal academic/professional discussion forum held in May 2015). Armed

with the results of relevant academic research, our professional accountants are better

poised to take their rightful place in the league of global accountants.

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Curriculum and Institutional Reforms

A globally relevant professional has the right mix of Education, Experience and

Exposure. Most accountancy students complete their professional training early enough,

but lack the much needed practical experience and exposure, hence a huge

education/skills deficit. One effective strategy to bridge this chasm is to enforce a 1-year

mandatory practical work experience scheme on completion of the ATS programme,

before transition to professional level. On the other hand, students who go through the

foundation programme should be required to complete this scheme before putting pen

to paper for their professional level examinations. The impact of this is not far-fetched;

students have an opportunity to see their training dovetail into practice, and are able to

build professional skills even prior to completion of their training. The implementation

of this strategy should be closely monitored, to prevent its manipulation.

To achieve the above, steps could be taken by ICAN to liaise with the Federal

Government, through the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) to set up internship sections

within the accounting and finance functions of companies.

Globally, accountants are subjected to quite rigorous training, and have to prove their

mettle by putting their skills on display to earn the status. Perhaps, the standard of ICAN

examinations and the rigour of training have been forced down in a bid to stave off

competition from other local accountancy bodies, and the few international bodies

operating in the country. Infact, ICAN has failed in its several attempts to render the

recognition of the Association of Annual Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN) voided by law.

To effectively “compete” therefore, it has resorted to moderating its requirements,

hence garnering record student numbers. The recent revision of the ICAN syllabus (in

partnership with the ICAEW), highlighting the required skills and core competencies for

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the 21st century professional accountant is impressive. Nonetheless, it is not enough to

simply revise the syllabus and produce remarkable study texts. My candid advice to the

Institute is quite straightforward. Quality should not be compromised in the face of

competition! Nigerian-trained accountants would only be able to hold their own

amongst their peers trained elsewhere in the world, if their training is sound. This

eventually pays off for the Institute as our accountants can enjoy membership status on

the board of international accountancy bodies such as the IFAC, IASB, IOSCO, amongst

others.

Conclusively, I am positive that this essay has critically analysed the history and current

realities of the professional accountant, specifically the Nigerian-trained accountant viz

a viz his global counterpart within a timeline spanning 50 years to the present. It has

also emphasized the evolving role of the professional accountant over the next 50 years,

and the role ICAN has played, and would need to play in the future, to ensure that it

catapults itself into global relevance in the comity of professional accountancy bodies.

The measures highlighted here, though exhaustive, do not make the full picture, due to

time and space constraints. However, I strongly believe that if these few are considered

alongside a few others, and appropriately implemented, we are well on our way to

making ICAN a truly global brand.

We should begin now to actualise the vision of Williams and his comrades, because the

future belongs to those who prepare for it today.

I close with the words of U.S President, Barrack Obama: Yes, We Can!

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References

Intuit © 2011. Intuit 2020 report: Future of the Accounting profession. www.wikipedia.com/instituteofcharteredaccountantsofnigeria . Accessed on 3rd

August 2015. www.accaglobal.com/History . Accessed on 3rd August 2015.

ACCA and IMA © 2012. The Futures Academy: 100 drivers of change for the global accountancy profession.

www.ican.org/History The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia © 2011. Bridging the Gap between Academic Accounting Research and Professional Practice.Shubik, M. © 2011. A Note on Accounting and Economic Theory: Past, Present, and Future, Accounting, Economics, and Law: 1(1).

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