The President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, Mallam Tijani Musa Isa, has promised to partner with the government to redefine national values, economic priorities and resource utilisation strategies to lift Nigerians out of avoidable poverty.
In his acceptance speech after his investiture as the 58th president of ICAN in Lagos on Tuesday, Isa said that the professional body will also leverage its expertise to support stakeholders in the informal sector, whose unsung value-creating activities will define the position of the nation on the ladder of sustainable development.
According to him, leadership at all levels must and would be held to account as, without accountability, the development of Nigeria will remain a pipe dream.
“As professionals skilled in resource management, we must confront these inexplicable, inexcusable and unacceptable misery indices accentuated by the high rate of unemployment, poor access of the citizenry to the basic things of life, high illiteracy rate, a huge number of out-of-school children, low life expectancy rate and high rate of girl-child marriages, if we are desirous of making any appreciable progress in the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals by the year 2030,’’ he explained
Noting that these challenges are not new, he said public expenditure and service have been driven by narrow personal gains rather than the common good, adding, “ For too long, the nation has celebrated wealth without recourse to the source. For too long, we have placed the cart before the horse in our developmental agenda. We must collectively right the wrong of our ages past. And also avoid policy summersaults.”
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While acknowledging the high office of the ICAN President, he said that the investiture was a clarion call to service, thence the enormity of its responsibility is not lost on me.
“However, I am persuaded that with the support and over the 500-year cumulative experience of our Council members, we will reposition ICAN and the Accountancy profession in the scheme of things for greater relevance in the national discourse, public policy and advocacy. “
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He said that he had chosen the Theme: “Positioning ICAN for higher members’ transcendence and public interest augmentation” for the 2022/2023 Presidential year and solicited the support, cooperation and understanding of members of the Presidency, the Council and all his professional colleagues to achieve the task.
“I am persuaded that as a team, we can overcome all odds and build a profession whose fountain of service will remain persuasive and value-laden. It is my utmost desire that at the end of this presidential year, I will pass on to my successor a banner without stain,’’ he added.
Among other plans, he said the Institute’s Think Tank will be empowered to sustain its thought leadership contributions on emerging issues by engaging its members with the relevant competence to facilitate the consolidation of its position on burning issues in the economy with the Institute playing a proactive role in policymaking in the country.
On students’ development, he said the Institute will ensure that its students are given the attention they need to become stable and dependable chartered accountants by vigorously pursuing Students’ Special Projects (SSP) for its students in educationally disadvantaged jurisdictions.
Similarly, he said the institute will provide technical assistance to Tuition Centres for remote learning platforms for students in their preparation for the Institute’s examinations.
“ICAN students should not be disadvantaged due to lack of exposure to relevant technology. Our Tuition Centres would be encouraged to become centres of excellence for online preparatory classes. To achieve this, the accreditation and revalidation exercise of tuition centres will be revisited and revamped for greater efficiency,’’ he said.
On the institute’s university project, he observed that Accounting is the most preferred course for the management sciences. He however lamented limited space to admit all those eligible for admission.
“The Institute, therefore, intends to leverage on that. In the last Presidential year, the Council had progressed with the acquisition of land and the fulfilment of the NUC requirements for the proposed ICAN University. In this Presidential year, the Council will advance with the commencement of Post Graduate programmes at the University.’’
Meanwhile, the 57th president of ICAN, Mrs Comfort Olu Eyitayo, said the outgoing Presidential Year could not have been so eventful and successful without the unflinching commitment from all well-meaning individuals, both members and non-members of the Institute.
She said it would require another book for her to reel off the individual contributions of the visioners and progressive personalities that sacrificed their time and resources to ensure the achievement of her desire to impact the profession and the economy.
“My desire to Make ICAN Great Again Through Visible Impact gave no sleep to my eyes, nor my eyelids to slumber. My focus was on the goal and, by the grace of the Almighty God, I can confidently chorus with Julius Caesar that I came, I saw and I conquered. All glory and adoration be to the Almighty God,” she added.
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