Presented to the IESBA Meeting of 4-6 December

2013, New York, by Chishala Kateka

AWARENESS OF THE CODE IN THE SUB-SAHARAN

AFRICAN REGION

The questionnaire by Chishala Kateka was kindly circulated by the Pan African Federation of Accountants (PAFA) to its Member bodies.

PAFA sent the survey to its 34 member nations of which 9 responses were received

Seeking to raise awareness of the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (the Code) amongst its members within the African Region, and

Seeking to understand the environment within which IFAC Member Institutes operate in relation to the Code.

The objective of the survey:

i) 8/9 PAFA Members have adopted the Code as their ethics

standards

ii) 5/8 Respondents using the Code use an earlier version than the

2012 one.

From the Survey Results it was observed that:

In 6/8 Countries using the Code, members are reasonably aware of the Code – members being given copies of the Code upon being admitted to membership

In the other two countries, awareness is low.

Awareness of Professional Accountants of the contents of the Code

Self-interest threats (failure to maintain objectivity and independence

Issues of Corporate Governance and Conflict of Interest - Independence

Close and or Immediate family relationships

Ethical issues topical in Members jurisdiction include inter alia

Public practice members provision of services even in areas where members are not very competent

Members in Practice signing accounts that they have not prepared nor reviewed

Members in Public Sector in Private Accounting Business. (Public Service Accountants setting up firms on the side in addition to their day jobs)

Ethical issues that are topical in your jurisdiction (cont’d)

This is done through:

Training Provision of materials (copy of the Code)

Competence Exams

Accountancy Magazines

At graduation ceremony, CPAs graduates take an oath to honour the provisions of the Code.

How Institutes implement the use of the Code

The lack of availability of quality trainers

Inability to punish culprits/non-adherents

Lack of resources (material and information) and staff not equipped to implement the Code

Challenges faced in implementing the use of the Code

Develop easy to read guidance material on the Code. The material code could, for instance, be based on different topics with the Code with adequate examples.

Have highlights - Perhaps a pocket guide.

IESBA can organize awareness workshops jointly with local associations in order to ensure a wider spread of contents of the Code.

How IESBA can help raise awareness amongst professional accountants in the jurisdictions

IESBA could provide their branded educational materials on the Code to member bodies from time to time to IFAC member bodies for distribution to Professional Accountants in the jurisdictions.

The regional trainings of trainers for PAO’s relevant staff

How IESBA can raise awareness amongst professional accountants in the jurisdictions (cont’d).

It is likely to impact other professionals in the Banking and Financial Services Sector.

The Society and Business Community will have trust in the Accountancy profession and place more reliance on Accountants and Auditors

The ethical behavior of Accountants will influence that of their clients towards building an ethical nation.

Impact that the Code becoming more pronounced can have outside of the Accountancy Profession

Awareness workshop to be jointly organized by IESBA with local Institutes

Perhaps exposure to the Code as early as the tertiary level would ensure that the Code is entrenched even before the student reaches the workplace.

IESBA should ask for slots whenever PAFA or Institute has CPD meetings

Publishing articles through the Institutes

Publication of standalone chapters of the Code

Suggested outreach awareness raising programs that IESBA could undertake

Other comments from PAFA members that in their opinion would be useful in assisting the IESBA to improve communication and mutual awareness with IFAC member Institutes in the Region

Any Other Comments A provision of information on how other institutes across the

world are implementing awareness of the Code, would be useful.

IESBA frequent communication with the Institutes will help to ensure compliance with the Ethics Code in the form of questions, Surveys and Annual Reports. This suggested interaction with the Institute will contribute to raising the Ethical stance of the Institute’s members.

IESBA to actively collaborate with PAFA and other sub-regional bodies to improve communication and raise awareness.

IESBA is not as visible as the other Boards and has taken a back seat – and yet it provides a framework in which we operate in and is thus important

It is not communicative

Any Other Comments

The responses constitute of 26% of the PAFA Members and would thus be representative

Members have an awareness but not necessarily a detailed knowledge of the Code, particularly those in industry

There is room for improvement with regards to communication between IESBA and member bodies of IFAC and their members

My own Conclusions from this

Sub-Saharan Africa comprises economies that are ‘emerging’ with growth rates above the global economic growth rates and is currently attracting a lot of FDIs. This is projected to grow further in the next few years.

As we pursue to attain convergence, I think that it is a soft target for the IESBA to help entrench the Code..

A cost effective plan for reaching out needs to therefore be made and systematically followed.

My own Conclusions from this

Sub-Saharan Africa comprises economies that are ‘emerging’ with growth rates above the global economic growth rates and is currently attracting a lot of FDIs. This is projected to grow further in the next few years.

As we pursue to attain convergence, I think that it is a soft target for the IESBA to help entrench the Code..

A cost effective plan for reaching out needs to therefore be made and systematically followed.

My own Conclusions from this

The End