Without Honesty, Accrual Accounting, Standards, And Technology Are Pointless
By FCPA Jim McFie A Fellow of ICPAK
Accountants play a vital role across the various segments of the economy; they are key players in all areas of commerce and industry, in financial services, in education, and in the public and non-profit sectors. The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) recognizes the importance of these members of the accounting profession who do not practise as auditors or financial consultants by establishing a separate department in IFAC which works to improve the effectiveness of accountants in the economy.
IFAC was founded on 7 October 1977, in Munich, Germany, at the 11th World Congress of Accountants; there were 63 founding institutes from 51 countries in 1977; today IFAC has 179 member and associate member institutes in 130 countries, representing more than 2.5 million accountants. At the first meeting of the IFAC Assembly and Council in October 1977, a 12-point work program was developed to guide IFAC committees and staff through its first five years of activities. The twelve points were: (1) Develop statements which serve as guidelines for international auditing guidelines (developing international accounting standards was left to the International Accounting Standards Board with whom IFAC has a Memorandum of Understanding); (2) Establish the basic principles which should be included in the code of ethics of any member body of IFAC and refine or elaborate on such principles as deemed appropriate; (3) Determine the requirements and develop programs for the professional education and training of accountants; (4) Collect, analyze, research, and disseminate information on the management of public accounting practices (that is, what we in Kenya would call audit firms) to assist practitioners in more effectively conducting their practices; (5) Evaluate, develop, and report on financial management and other management techniques and procedures; (6) Undertake other studies of value to accountants, such as a possible study on the legal liabilities of auditors; (7) Foster closer relationships with users of financial statements including preparers, trade unions, financial institutions, industry, governments, and others; (8) Maintain good relations with regional organizations and explore the potential for establishing other regional organizations, as well as assisting in their administration and development: for example, in May 2011, the Pan African Federation of Accountants (PAFA) was established to strengthen the capacity and influence of the accountancy profession in Africa; it is a network partner of the International Federation of Accountants; PAFA has 56 professional accountancy organisations as members in 45 African countries, (the PAFA website carries two numbers for organizations, 56 and 57 and two numbers for countries 45 and 46) with five international affiliations representing 1.3 billion people in Africa; (9) Establish regular communications among the members of IFAC and other interested organizations, principally through an IFAC Newsletter; (10) Organize and promote the exchange of technical information, educational materials and professional publications, and other literature emanating from member bodies; (11) Organize and conduct an international congress of accountants approximately once every five years; and (12) Seek to expand the membership of IFAC. One can see that much of this work program is still relevant today.
When I attend seminars in Kenya and the presenters speak about the latest developments in the private sector, those who work in government attending the seminar always ask why no mention has been made about the public sector, that is, national and county ministries, departments and agencies. My own view is that the one difference between the private sector and the public sector is that a private sector entity has to “earn” its income by selling its products or services to its market whereas public sector entities may too have to sell their products or services but can rely on money from the Treasury (provided there is proper financial management in the government). It was only in 1986 that IFAC established the Public Sector Committee (PSC) as a standing committee with a broad mandate to develop programs to improve public financial management and accountability. Between 1986 and 1996, the PSC issued studies on specialized accounting issues in the public sector. In 1996, the PSC changed its role to an international accounting standard setter for the public sector with the launch of its Standards Program. In 2004, the PSC was relaunched as the International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB) with revised terms of reference to reflect the Board’s mandate to focus on developing and issuing International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSASs). FCPA Dr. Anne Owuor, who worked in the Office of the President for six years, followed by twenty-five years in Kenya Power and Lighting plc in a variety of roles, was a member of the Board of IPSASB for six years from January 2011 to December 2016.
But back to 1977: as one of its first tasks, IFAC established the Professional Accountants in Business Advisory Group (PAIB). The PAIB is comprised of volunteers with experience and expertise in the world of business and the public sector, nominated by the professional accountancy organizations that make up IFAC’s membership. It is comprised of professional accountants with extensive and diverse experiences; the Advisory Group considers key global trends in the context of the issues facing chief financial officers and people in finance functions, as well as boards and their audit committees. Sanjay Rughani, a Tanzanian, serves as the Chair of the IFAC Professional Accountants in Business Advisory Group. He joined Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) in Tanzania in 1999. Over the years he rose to become the Executive Director Finance for SCB Tanzania and Regional Finance Manager for Africa based out of London, UK. Currently he is the Chief Executive Officer of SCB in Uganda. CPA Margaret Muinde was appointed a member of the PAIB Advisory Group in January 2020, representing Africa and the Middle East Region. Margaret was nominated by ICPAK. She has an MBA Finance option and a BA in Double Mathematics and Economics, both from the University of Nairobi. She has over 15 years’ experience in managerial positions in finance and financial management, internal and external audit, taxation, strategy, risk management, corporate governance, accounting, taxation, procurement, and consulting in public, private and non-governmental organizations ranging from manufacturing, to education, and to the infrastructure sector within and outwith (in Scottish English, outwith means outside) Kenya. She has worked in various capacities in the Kenya Roads Board, Ernst & Young (EY) and PKF International. In addition, she has had multi-jurisdiction exposure dealing with various regulatory reporting requirements and is also well versed in formulation of policies. The PAIB Advisory Group has a total of twenty-two members each one of whom is from a different country around the world.
On 26 June 2024, the PAIB Advisory Group published “The Accountancy Profession Enabling Africa’s Transformation”. The report emphasizes that achieving Africa’s growth and sustainable development ambitions requires the active contribution of accountancy and finance professionals. It outlines how influential accountants on company boards, and as Chief Finance Officers (CFOs), trusted business advisors, and those working in the public sector, can drive sustainable economic growth on the continent, and help navigate the challenges of energy access, a lack of regional integration, rising public debt, as well as climate change adaption and mitigation. The cost of solving addressing all these challenges is estimated to be between USD68 million and USD108 billion annually. As we are all aware, improving public financial management in Africa is an essential step needed in addressing the sovereign debt sustainability.
The report said a robust public sector accrual-based accounting system and good financial management will reduce revenue leakage from waste and corruption, helping to reduce financial debts in the coming years too. However, a far more important element in public (and private) financial management is honesty: if I steal only one shilling per day from every adult and every child in Kenya, I shall be “richer” by Kes 54 million per day. But many families in Kenya cannot afford to lose one shilling per day, that is Kes 365 per year, for each member of the family.
Both Christians and Muslims believe the story of Moses receiving the ten commandments from God: this event is read frequently in the holy book of the Quran. The eighth commandment is you shall not steal. The amounts being stolen by many today are serious offenses against this commandment and will receive divine retribution: a number of people will deny the existence of God in order to “get rid of having to feel guilty” about this evil. One extreme difficulty in rectifying the error of stealing is that rectifying requires returning the money from whom it was stolen. So many thieves waste their stolen money: how then can they return the stolen money before they die? If one speaks about the importance of honesty and at the same time steals, this is a level of hypocrisy at the highest level and has been condemned severally by God. Unless honesty is practised by all, having accrual accounting, standards, computer systems, and all the other technology and knowledge is useless. In Africa, there needs to be wider access to suitable training, suitable qualifications and strong professional and ethical standards, all of which are key to strengthening public sector governance and financial management. That means Africa needs more honest qualified accountants everywhere! And PAFA’s CEO Alta Prinsloo added: “By strengthening the capacity and influence of the accountancy profession in Africa, we enable our 56-member organisation in 45 countries to help drive sustainable growth and prosperity by enhancing trade and regional integration, investment, the quality of services and trust in institutions.”
Kenya’s accountants have a vital role in ensuring that Kenya has a viable future. When we look around the world, the progress of China immediately catches the eye. Here is a country in which 31 million new businesses (against 5.1 million in the US) were started in 2023; in which there is no drug problem among the youth or adults; in which there is almost no homelessness; in which one gets rich by work and skill. In two years its GDP will be higher than that of the US. China is a rising star while the star in Europe and the US fades. Let us make sure that Kenya imitates China and not Europe and the US.
