By Bill W. Cooper
The Liberian Institute of Certified Public Accountants (LICPA) has been overwhelmingly endorsed to host the second edition of the Accountancy Bodies in West African States (ABWA) Congress scheduled for August of 2022.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) ABWA Congress was earlier scheduled for last November but could not be held due to the outbreak of the coronavirus which heavily devastated the Liberian economy.
ABWA’s Congress will bring face-to-face several chartered accountants from the West African sub-region to discuss issues regarding the growth and future of the accountancy profession as well as set standards to ensure that the accountancy bodies in the region meet best international practices.
Meanwhile, at the climaxed of the ABWA conference held at the Farmington Hotel in Liberia, the president of ABWA and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, Dame Onome Joy Adewuyi said the council’s assessment showed that Liberia is prepared to host the event in August, next year.
Madam Adewuyi explained that the aimed of the council meeting that was held in Liberia over the weekend was intended to assess several member states for good security, infrastructures, among other basic needs for delegates from across the region so that that county will host the body biggest event which will help designed strategy for its members across west Africa.
She however expressed her enthusiasm and willingness to have known and work with the leadership LICPA for the improvement and growth of the institution, alluding, “I am so excited to be in Liberia to work with this LICPA who hope and aspiration is to the see chartered accountants across the region improve.”
The Ghanaian Institute of Chartered Accountants president, Williams Abayaawien Atuilik, lauded the LICPA leadership for its work over the years thereby promising his institution’s fullest support in making sure that the upcoming congress is successful.
Earlier, LICPA president, Victor S. Tanwone said that the selection of LICPA to host the upcoming ECOWAS ABWA congress was not an easy decision in ECOWAS as many other Professional Accountancy Organizations (PAOs) were also interested, bided and lobbied for the slot, emphasizing that after series of closed door meetings and behind-the-scene lobbying, it was when the LICPA was unanimously endorsed to host the congress.
Additionally, the LICPA president indicated, “I am also pleased to inform you that during my attendance at the 49th Annual Accountants’ Conference in Abuja Nigeria, I made an official request to the president and Council of The Institute of Chartered Accountants, Nigeria (ICAN) to conduct a Quality Review of our member firms on a pro bono basis and the request was approved by the Governing Council of ICAN of which it is reality today.”
He said as a person and president of the LICPA, those are massive and historic achievements for the institution, profession and Liberia as a whole because the ECOWAS Commissioner Representative relative to the ECOWAS/ABWA Congress once said that, “The Gambia Institute of Chartered Accountants (GICA) has placed herself strategically within the programs of ECOWAS and other donors present at this Joint Inaugural congress for the professional manner in which the Congress was planned and executed.”
President Tanwone stressed, “We do understand that GICA is one of the smallest PAOs within the Sub-region but despite her size, her members zealously pulled out in their numbers and signed up for the Congress not considering the poor state of the nation’s economy and their own economic conditions. I am surprised to also know that some members who are on holidays or business trips outside the country did sign up and paid for their congress slot while absent; bravo to GICA. We take note of this.”
Meanwhile, the LICPA president further expressed his disappointment in the LICPA members for their failure to sign up and attend the just ended meeting and dinner night at the Farmington Hotel despite the leadership’s repeated and consistent publicity of the event via members’ emails and official communications to Public and Private Institutions like the MoFDP, GAC, CBL, LIBA and the Liberia Chambers of Commerce among others.
He then urged members to support the planned congress meeting in order to embrace the generosity of the ECOWAS Commission and ABWA for endorsing the LICPA to host the event, while at the same time wants them to pull out their energies and resources to make event second to none in the history of the ECOWAS ABWA Congresses and also by emulating the approach of the members of the Gambia Institute of the Chartered Accountants (GICA).
“It is incumbent upon us as members of this noble and great global profession to showcase our abilities and capacities to position our dear Institute strategically among the communities of PAOs regionally and globally by coming out in our numbers by signing up for the event and participating actively,” proxy Tanwone pointed out.
LICPA’s president was selected to chair plenary session II of the ECOWAS/ABWA Joint Inaugural Congress in Banjul, The Gambia which ran from December 4-7, 2019.