The 2011 BICA/AAT Achievement Awards Ceremony

01 November 2011

Tuesday the 1st of November 2011 was a very special day for the Botswana Institute of Chartered Accountants and the Association of Accounting Technicians` calendars as over 500 students either graduated with AAT or were admitted to full membership of the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT).

The colourful 2011 Achievement Awards Ceremony, which was co-hosted by the Botswana Institute of Chartered Accountants and the Association of Accounting Technicians - United Kingdom, took place at the Gaborone International Convention Centre and was meant to acknowledge the performance of the members who had reached notable milestones with AAT over the past year.

In his opening address, the BICA President, Vijay Kalyanaraman, informed the graduates and the invited guests that the year 2011 was a key milestone year as it was the year in which Botswana’s own Professional Accountancy Qualification, BICA, was launched by the then Assistant Minister of Finance & Development Planning Honorable Vincent T. Seretse. “The BICA qualification gives you a great opportunity to progress into a world-class professional qualification while you gain technical work experience”, Vijay posited.

Delivering her welcome remarks, the AAT Director of Global Development, Clare Morley, said that the 2011 BICA/AAT Achievement Awards Ceremony was a demonstration of the enduring bond between the Association of Accounting Technicians and the Botswana Institute of Chartered Accountants. “AAT and BICA work together to make the AAT qualification successful in Botswana, and the fact that you have all been successful is a demonstration of our joint success,” Clare said.

Clare emphasised the fact that the graduates were part of AAT, an association that was founded in 1980 and currently had a total membership of 125 000 worldwide. Clare further informed the graduates and invited guests that the AAT qualification was being offered in 13 countries outside the UK, with over 7 000 members in the African region. Elaborating on the history of AAT in Botswana, Clare noted that the AAT qualification and membership had been growing at an impressive rate in Botswana for over 20 years and Botswana was now regarded as a special member of the AAT family as she had the greatest number of AAT students outside the United Kingdom, with student numbers having grown from 3 509 at the end of 2010, to 4 214 in 2011.

“All of you here are part of that special membership of the AAT family. The size and strength of the AAT’s membership in Botswana is a true tribute to BICA’s support and also to the continuing wisdom and foresight of the Botswana government, backed up by its substantial investment in skills development,” Clare said.

AAT President, Hilary Lindsay revealed that the Botswana Achievement Awards ceremonies were the biggest of several events that AAT held around the world on behalf of AAT members. “Today you can look back and celebrate, but also look forward to what is now possible, and how to use what you have achieved so far with AAT to support you throughout your career,” Hilary said.

Hilary further pointed out that whatever stage the graduates’ careers had reached, with AAT they must all continue to encourage those around them to embrace that journey and everything it could offer.

AAT Botswana Branch Chair, Boemo Gaolathe, highlighted the operations of the branch and what it offers. Boemo explained that the AAT Botswana Branch provided comprehensive support, advice and networking opportunities. “We host regular high quality CPD events on Saturdays throughout the year. The events are free and provide everyone with the opportunity to network with AAT members and other accounting professionals in Francistown and Gaborone.” He urged the graduates to get involved in the activities of their local Branch Committee so as to have a hand in the development of the programme of offline events and online resources.

While assuring the graduates that they had chosen the right career, AAT Benefits and Services Manager, Paul Fulton, informed the graduates that acquiring full membership of the AAT allowed one to use the designatory letters MAAT after their names, thus confirming their status as qualified Accounting Technicians and hence bringing more recognition to the profession. The other benefit that Paul highlighted was that once someone had attained the MAAT status, they would have access   to the services dedicated to AAT full members, including online resources and free local branch events. “As a full member, your AAT experience can also act as a springboard to studying for the Botswana chartered accountancy qualification and you gain all the benefits of a leading professional body whilst you study,” Paul said.

For his part, the BICA CEO, Duncan Majinda, congratulated the tuition providers and the lecturers for a job very well done. “Botswana now boasts of a large pool of Accounting Technicians because of you. As the leader of the accountancy profession in Botswana, BICA can now stand and proudly tell our Government that we no longer require work permits for expatriate Accounting Technician staff as we have produced enough of our own, thanks to the joint efforts of AAT and BICA”, Majinda emphasized.

Duncan informed the graduates that the first intake of BICA students had commenced studies in July 2011. Accordingly, he encouraged all the AAT graduates to seriously and urgently consider enrolling for Botswana`s own Professional Accountancy Qualification, BICA, in order to become full professional accountants.

Duncan concluded his remarks by thanking the BICA Director of Training & Professional Development, Feliaty TJ Ndeke, for the role he had played, and continues to play, in making the BICA qualification a reality.