Derrick Nkajja CEO/Secretary ICPAU
What is the Institute of Certified Public Accounts of Uganda and what does it do?
The Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Uganda (ICPAU) is a member based professional accountancy body established in 1992, with the mandate to regulate the accountancy profession in Uganda. ICPAU’s mandate is to: regulate and maintain the standard of accountancy in Uganda and prescribe and regulate the conduct of accountants in Uganda.
In executing the above mandate, ICPAU performs various activities, including prescribing accounting standards for use by the various sectors of Uganda’s economy; ICPAU adopted the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in 1998, International Standards on Audit in 1999, International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) in 2006 and IFRS for SMEs in 2009, and is now developing syllabi for accountancy courses for the Certified Public Accountants (CPA) and the Accounting Technicians Certificate (ATC) course.
CPA is the professional course for accountants while ATC is the course for accounting technicians. We also admit members to the Institute, prescribe a Code of Ethics and ensure strict adherence to its clauses (This includes disciplining errant members), license practitioners of accountancy, inspect audit firms under the audit monitoring programme and offering professional advice to members among other things.
What does it take to become an ICPAU member?
To become a full member of ICPAU one must either: have completed the Certified Public Accountants of Uganda CPA(U) course and attained the requisite 3 years of relevant practical experience or be a member in good standing of any of the East African Community Institutes of Accountants (EACIAs) or be a holder of a foreign professional accountancy qualification with at least 3 years of relevant practical experience and have your qualification localised by attempting CPA papers that are unique and important for the profession in Uganda.
So, how would you describe/identify an accountant in Uganda? How many certified accountants does Uganda have?
In Uganda, and in accordance with the Accountants Act 1992, an Accountant must be a member of ICPAU and to be a member one must have a professional accountancy qualification such as Certified Public Accountant (CPA). Currently, ICPAU has enrolled over 1,800 Certified Public Accountants (CPAs).
1,800 seems a small number. What are you doing to increase the number of accountants in Uganda?
On paper, Uganda appears to have few accountants but many qualified accountants are under employed implying that either there are individuals who qualified and have never enrolled or their services are not being adequately consumed by the economy. Nevertheless, ICPAU is taking all possible measures to increase the number of registered accountants in the country. Firstly, ICPAU guarantees training and nurturing of professional accountants through; developing relevant curricular for accountancy courses, and conducting accountancy examinations.
Every year, over 200 individuals qualify through the ICPAU education scheme to become accountants. ICPAU also provides career guidance to school and university students, educating them on the value of choosing accountancy as a profession in the development of our economy. We also ensure quality and professional conduct of existing accountants by; Conducting Continuing Professional Development (CPD) seminars throughout the year, to ensure that accountants are continuously updated regarding changes in accounting standards so that they remain relevant to the economy and ensuring compliance with the Code of Ethics for accountants and disciplining errant members.
What is the role of accountants in the growth of business and the economy at large?
Accountants I would say are the life blood of businesses. In the first place, they offer leadership and governance; accountants participate in strategy formulation and administrative policy formulation of organisations. They are the CEOs, MDs and CFOs of today’s lucrative businesses. Accountants make the best CEOs because they understand and appreciate finance which is the backbone of any business. Accountants are the trusted business advisers among many professions.
Accountants also offer resource management; they ensure efficient resource management through providing expert counsel on procurement and providing accurate accountability for resources, and provide finance counsel; they are the strategic business advisers of the economy.
They provide informed advice on investment decisions, expenditures, asset management, procurement, etc. Other roles of accountants include risk management and audits & assurance. Under risk management, accountants identify and control operational business risk and opportunities, e.g inflationary shocks, economic depressions and upsurge, etc, to ensure business growth and survival with respect to prevailing economic conditions.
Accountants control an organisation’s cash flows, record financial transactions and prepare reports. On audits & assurance, accountants review the financial statements and operating systems of an organisation to ensure that the financial records are a true representation of the transactions that transpired. Based on their finding, systems and controls are improved for the smooth running of organisations.
Despite ICPAU existence and efforts to professionalize accountancy, many Ugandans strongly feel accountants are the perpetrators of the high levels of corruption in Uganda. What measures have you put in place to control corruption and clean your image?
Firstly, we note that the accountancy profession over the years is being blamed in a number of cases for the wrong reasons. That problem arises from individuals who do not belong to the profession but hold out to the public as professional accountants. We must be cognizant of the fact that not all prepares of books of accounts are actually accountants. All professions have levels for example “Doctors” have “Medical Assistants”; “Lawyers” have the “Para legals” and “Accountants” we have “Accounting Technicians”.
A number of titles have been generated to describe what accounting technicians do but they remain Accounting technicians not Accountants. In Uganda we have the “Association of Accounting Technicians of Uganda” for all levels of accounting technicians and the “Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Uganda” for all professional accountants. The two associations drive ethics within their members but many would be members have to be registered.
We are encouraging all employers to crosscheck with us at the time of recruitment and also to enroll their staff if they are not yet members of ICPAU. The profession can ably handle the situation if one is our member. We have received complaints from employers only to discover that the individuals being referred to cannot be disciplined because he/she is not a member. Where a member of ICPAU is implicated in fraud, a disciplinary process is instituted.
The matter is investigated and the accused is summoned by the disciplinary committee and given an opportunity to be heard. If found to have been involved in professional misconduct, he/she is penalised according to the gravity of the matter and what the accountants act prescribes; suspension, levy of a fine, and in extreme cases, scrapped off from the register of accountants.
We also believe that corruption must be fought collectively. If an employer does not want to enroll an employee as an accountant, there is a strong likelihood that such an employer is teaching employees to go against set rules and regulations. We strongly call on all regulators within Uganda to work together and drive corruption out of the country.
What do Accounting Technicians exactly do that you accountants do not?
They (Accounting Technicians) handle all the foundations for financial record keeping like raising receipts, vouchers, posting records into the right category and drafting the trail balance”. In summary they help in the generation of financial records i.e. they handle book keeping work. You may realize that it is work which could also be done by an accountant but it is for accounting technicians the same way doctors can inject a patient but it is primarily for Medical assistants & Nurses.
Small businesses the majority in Uganda, lack the services of accountants. What advice do you extend to them?
We have said this before and we will continue to say it, small businesses should employ professional accountants. Some small businesses think that they are saving money by not using professionals but they are wrong. Quality will cost you but ultimately, you will achieve your goals. There are many accountants who can fit within SME budgets and we encourage SMEs to tap into their proficiency. Small businesses must adopt and apply the appropriate accounting standards.
ICPAU adopted International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) for Small and Medium Entities (SMEs) in 2006. Small businesses should apply this standard to lessen their burden in preparation of financials. Small businesses should also consider partnerships as opposed to sole proprietorship. Through partnerships, they are able to expand their pool of knowledge and ideas and also increase their sources of funding.