Botswana Institute of Chartered Accountants hosts Biennial International Conference and 20th Anniversary

Under the theme “Governance beyond the Financial Crisis”, the Botswana Institute of Chartered Accountants hosted a two day 6th Biennial international conference at the Gaborone International Convention Centre from the 3rd-4th June. The conference coincided with the Institute celebrating its 20th anniversary, with festivities taking place at the closure of the conference.

Welcoming guests to the conference, the President of BICA Nigel Dixon-Warren expressed hope that the delegates would take full advantage of the excellent line-up of experts as well as the opportunity to get to know fellow professionals. He emphasized that the Institute remained steadfast in its endeavor to promote public confidence in the accounting profession as well as to enhance compliance with international standards through integrity, excellence, ethics, independence and accountability.

Officially opening the conference, the Governor of the Bank of Botswana Linah Mohohlo emphasized the relevance of the conference theme as being timely since most countries, Botswana included, are recovering from the effects of the global financial crisis, which precipitated the deepest recession in a generation. “It is now well known that the first sign of a progressive build-up of gross disregard of the basics of good governance in the US was the asset bubble that was fuelled by the virtual absence of risk management and personal financial prudence”, she added. Mohohlo further said there was also a lack of transparency, accountability and supervisory oversight standards.

The BICA 6th International Biennial Conference brought together a line-up of experts from abroad and locally. Among them, the Senior Research Fellow at BIDPA Dr Tebogo Seleka, presenting on ‘Economic Diversification Initiatives in Botswana: Will Agriculture initiatives work?’, noted that there are no alternative livelihood sources outside of agriculture in the rural economy as it creates employment and generates income, leading to poverty reduction and that agriculture is key in generating foreign exchange.

Presenting on Botswana tax system and comparing Botswana globally, Nigel Dixon-Warren noted that the average company/business tax cost stands at 48 per cent globally, 67 per cent in Africa whilst it stands at 17.1 percent in Botswana, with the latter being ranked 14th globally. While appreciating Botswana’s tax system, Dixon-Warren noted that the administration needed to improve, also advising legislators not to overcomplicate the legislative system and to resist temptation to tax different sectors or industries differently.

The Vice President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales Clive Parrit revealed that his Institute had embarked on a twinning arrangement with BICA, funded by the World Bank, whose key objective was to develop a BICA professional qualification. “This will help Botswana become a key source of professional accountants and enhance the standing of BICA in the region”, he said. To this end, he added, the ICAEW is working with leading stakeholders including the Botswana Accountancy College, the University of Botswana and the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning. He also pointed out that the delivery of a respected national qualification will empower the BICA to become the institute of first choice for students wishing to become accountants in Botswana.

Renowned author of the King 2 and 3 Reports, Professor Mervyn King presented on the impact of King 3 Report on Corporate Governance while ACCA’s Head of Professional Development-Global Tony Osude got the audience’s attention presenting on Continuous Professional Development. Presenting on the Transforming Financial Management & Reporting in the Public Sector, Patrick Kabuya of the World Bank emphasized the role of the accountancy profession in the adoption of the International Public Sector Accounting Standards as being partnering with government to develop adoption strategy and guidelines, skills development and consultations on reforms.

During the Cocktail address, ECSAFA CEO Vickson Ncube commended the BICA for its meaningful contribution to the region, conceding that alongside five other countries, Botswana’s International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) action plans were publicly released onto the IFAC website as role models for other member bodies to emulate. “The actions of IFAC make me believe Botswana is doing things right as its action plans were chosen alongside those of Argentina, China, Czech Republic, Kenya and Romania”, he concluded.

20TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS

The evening of Friday the 4th saw the celebration of BICA’s 20 years of existence. The incumbent President of the Institute Nigel Dixon-Warren, while welcoming guests, acknowledged the noble efforts of all the past Presidents who had led the BICA with distinction.

Giving a keynote address, the Acting Minister of Trade and Industry Honorable Maxwell Motowane revealed that the BICA was established in the 1970s under the then Association of Accountants of Botswana, with only two citizen professional accountants, one of whom, Lawrence Maika, who was later to become the first President of the Botswana Institute of Chartered Accountants. “The BICA was born out of the final AGM of the then Association of Accountants of Botswana on June 29th 1990. This meeting culminated in the establishment of the Botswana Institute of Chartered Accountants on July 2nd, 1990 where the Auditor General and Accountant General became Council members through the promulgation of the Accountants Act of 1988”, he said.

Honorable Motowane congratulated the Institute for its notable achievements including the opening of its Francistown Satellite Office for its outreach programmes and announced that the Institute will shortly be moving into its own building partly funded by Government. He added that “Professional standards have also greatly improved, with BICA attaining membership of the Eastern, Central and Southern African Federation of Accountants (ECSAFA) and the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC)”.

However, he said, challenges still exist. “These include the need to improve institutional capacity of BICA to meet the technical demands to comply with the International Financial Reporting Standards and also satisfy the stringent membership obligations of IFAC and ECSAFA”, he concluded.

It was a night of glamour as the immediate past President, and the only woman to lead the Institute in that capacity, Priya Iyer stood up to propose a toast for all the Institute’ achievements in the two decades. “I acknowledge the role of all stakeholders here today who have ensured that the Institute delivers on its mandate’, she said.

After a sumptuous dinner and a vote of thanks by the BICA Vice President Vijay Kalyanaraman it was time for a raffle draw with prizes sponsored by Ernst & Young, Air Botswana, Cresta Lodge, Tony Ventre, Deloitte and Mascom.

The BICA 6th Biennial International Conference and 20th Anniversary in its entirety was proudly sponsored by:
Botswana Development Corporation, University of Botswana, Grant Thornton, Ernst & Young, PricewaterHouseCoopers, KPMG, IFSC, CIMA, ACCA, Bank of Baroda, AAT, Deloitte, Impression House, Ba Isago University College, The Grand Palm, Mascom, Onlex, ICAEW, Chartacc, Air Botswana and IFSC.

THANK YOU TO ALL OUR SPONSORS!