NIGERIAN COLLEGE OF ACCOUNTANCY: 33 YEARS OF GROOMING ACCOUNTANCY PROFESSIONALS IN A VERY HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT.

By Nnabugwu Chizoba, Development Practitioner

Professional Accountants create products, services and processes that are needed to ensure sustainable development of economic, operational, and market scope and performance, in a manner that creates value for the society, industry and institutions, without compromising the ability of the entities concerned to continue doing so in the future.

Additionally, the Professional Accountants, through their activities promote accountability, prudence in public financial management, transparency and corporate governance. Similarly, they make possible, remarkable reforms and strategic innovations that address financial accounting and auditing problems, cost and management accounting challenges, taxation issues, securities and financial disputes, including disagreements between regulators, standard setters and the industry.

It is a matter of fact and common knowledge that it is the Professional Accountants that the society looks forward to, to connect the past and present, to the future. This is with regard to ascertaining that proper records has been kept, standards respected and maintained. Similarly, the Professional Accountants, also evaluate, analyze, authenticate, interpret, process, classify, summarize, report and supply information on the transactions, and operations in government ministries, departments and agencies; hospitals, aviation, mining, and construction industries, factories, farms, military regiments and the rest. The Professional Accountants are unavoidably in all aspects of human endeavor.

The Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN), 33 years ago, bequeathed to Nigeria, an economic blueprint dedicated for her economic development: The Nigerian College of Accountancy.  It is a blueprint that is based on Nigeria’s own culture and political evolution. It is a viable platform, indeed an action plan, necessary to give the nation a clear direction, and a strategic agenda for the development of Accountancy Professionals and middle level manpower in Accounting and allied fields.

Going by assertions of some Nigerians, most of who are very conversant with developments in and around the World, the College should be embraced by the Federal Government of Nigeria, as a national center, and massively supported by other tiers of government, as the roadmap for the delivery of cultural democracy, self-reliance, accountability and sustainable development. Considering, most especially, the fact that the College is designed to touch all aspects of Nigeria’s economy and to impact the life of citizens in diverse ways, essentially to give them a sense of belonging, the views in some quarters that the Nigerian College of Accountancy, is a means, for the citizens to take very firm control of their own affairs and future, becomes of interest, as it merits the support of all well-meaning citizens. Among those that have lend their voice to this call is a State Director of the National Orientation Agency.

There is no arguing the fact that Nigeria’s development is not possible without gaining control over her abundantly endowed resources. It is also true that, without building people of integrity, competence and functional knowledge, there would not be real sovereignty (Political, Social and Economic). It is therefore, very pertinent at this point to underscore these issues as the driving force that spur the founders of ANAN and has kept their zeal firing for 33 years running. Any careful observer would notice that the major objectives of the efforts is to promote the higher national ideals and the overall interest of Nigerian people; not the passion, emotion and benefits of a few.

Undoubtedly, one constant factor that has played very active role in destabilizing the Nigerian system and making it impossible for the Nigerian nation to benefit maximally from the noble objectives of ANAN in establishing the Nigerian College of Accountancy, is the unrepentant attitude of Nigerian leaders to maintain out dated, out-modeled and dysfunctional structures.

In her 57 years of self-rule, Nigeria’s leadership class, especially, from the 1980s, have paid lip services to Nigeria’s socio-economic development. In its stead, the people witness a class structure devoid of anything strategic in terms of addressing the sufferings of the masses. Quite worrisome, is the addiction, with which government, have promoted futile and unprogressive methods; a governance system, characterized by questionable procedures, techniques, strategies and formats.

It is disheartening, to note the inability of the Nigerian system to truly recognize, the real demands of the time, and to collaborate with relevant institutions, especially the private sector, to ensure that the real target of development (the people) are adequately integrated into the development agenda. The resulting effect, is the lack of consensus of what constitutes the national standard, norms and values, in the pursuit of Nigerian’s economic development.

A typical example is the inability of government to properly integrate and efficiently implement what has been adjudged by professionals, economic experts and development gurus, world over, as a well thought out design, and strategically developed national economic blueprint, put together by very patriotic and if truth be told passionate and development oriented citizens, to guaranty quality assurance in the grooming of Accountancy Professionals, in Nigeria.

That the promoters of the College, have remained optimistic, persistent, committed and unrelenting, for 33 years out of Nigeria’s 57 years, to give the nation a legacy of unimaginable magnitude, notwithstanding the level of discouragements is a clear indication, good enough, for all well-meaning citizens to rise up in unison to dislodge, the unprogressive elements whose only agenda is to distract and whittle down the commitment of Nigerian icons, who have struggled over the years to liberate, reposition and refocus the Accountancy Profession and set the Nigerian economy out of destitution and aids dependency.

The attention of government at different levels and the Nigerian citizens is here drawn to appreciate the foresight of fellow citizens, 33 years ago, and to value the sacrifices (monetary and otherwise) that past and present leadership of ANAN, the Membership of the Association and the management and staff of the Nigeria College of Accountancy (past and present), have committed towards ensuring that Nigeria’s development does not remain a mere slogan, but one that is vigorously pursued with the speed of light.  

For any nation to be of serious consequence in the general well-being of the people, it must have interest in the grooming of its Professionals and assure itself that competent, effective and respectable men and noble sentiments, hold the exalted seat of the Professional Accountant. Nothing can be as devastating to the progress of a nation as the enthronement of pedestrian minds, subservient mediocrities, ethically deficient and imprudent, in the vital leadership positions, that the Accountancy Professionals, occupy.