‘Nigeria needs professionals at every level’

Oluwatoyin Ademola is the head of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) Nigeria. She spoke with FEMI ASU at the recent 2014 ACCA Student Colloquium held in Lagos, stressing the need for professionalism in Nigeria and the Association’s commitment to producing more qualified finance professionals in the country. Excerpts:

What do you think of the accounting profession in Nigeria?

I think the accounting profession in Nigeria has room to grow. I think there is huge need for accounting transactions and there is a huge need for accountants given the number of businesses we have and the size of the population and the foreign direct investment that continues to come into Nigeria. Whether individuals can handle it, no; but I think there is a need for a lot of collaboration between all the bodies that exist in Nigeria at the moment.

Looking at the accounting space, we have seen some accounting bodies come into the country. The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) recently gave its response on the proliferation of foreign accountancy bodies operating in the country without the required enabling Act from the National Assembly.

I wouldn’t want to respond to what ICAN has said, but I am very interested in the foreign bodies that have come in. I don’t know where there is a country where there is no foreign body that is operating. For a country to move forward there has to be foreign investment, that is why are accepting foreign direct investment. If not, we would have been able to tell those organisations bringing money in that they need to leave. For countries to move forward, I think it is best for us to all understand why there is a need for collaboration. Why there is a need for external influence because we cannot do it by ourselves. If we could do it by ourselves, we would have done by now.

We have seen some changes in the dynamics of business and it is said that accounting is the language of business, how is ACCA coming up with changes that will ensure that the qualification is improved?

What we do at ACCA is we make sure that our qualification is business-relevant. For instance, at the different levels, we have what we call diploma in business and accounting. We have advanced diploma in business and accounting and of course, the ACCA qualification. We have taken services from employers who have hired ACCA members and actually our qualification is very relevant. We consistently and constantly review our syllabus to make sure that what we have in our qualification is applicable not just by the ACCA members, but also will have the ability for students or members to be able to deliver to the employers. So when we are reviewing our syllabus, we don’t just decide that we are updating it, we actually consult with a number of employers as well as the education institutions before we actually do that because we know that whatever anybody takes, it is all about employability and the ACCA students and all members have to be able to use the qualification to get employment and deliver.

Can you give us a sense of the changes you have made in the last few years?

For instance, I know that in Nigeria International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) is now a big thing. ACCA started doing IFRS examinations about six or seven years ago. IFRS has always been part of our qualification. Members who qualified six years ago can tell you that they went through IFRS. Apart from that, we also have part of our qualification that focuses on entrepreneurship. We also have something that we call certificate in IFRS for small and medium enterprises (SME) sector as well. Because for us, we understand that it is not just about the need to report, but the SME sector needs to understand the reports they need to produce. And that is on the technical side. On the other side, what we have done is we have made our exam more flexible, more user-friendly, for the want of a better word. For instance, from next year, we are going to have four sittings for ACCA exam rather than two. And what that does for employers is that instead of them losing all their staff in the two sessions, which is either in June or December, they can actually structure their staff on when to sit for the exam.

And also what we have done is that we have introduced a lot more papers to our computer-based examinations, which means that it allows for students to be able to plan for their next exam sitting or even in terms of employability or promotional aspect. For instance, a student can go and sit for paper F5 and immediately get results, which will allow them move forward in their career.

What we have tried to do at ACCA is to make our qualification business-relevant and business-specific.  And we have also made it sector-irrelevant. It means that when a student has an ACCA qualification and becomes a member, they can work in whatever sector they want. We are trying to produce not only accountants, but accountants that can step up as business partners where they can sit at the boardroom table and take business relevant decisions. And also ACCA as a qualification can be used in 168 countries. Everybody wants a qualification or some professional qualification where they can move across sectors and across borders or regions.

Do you think there are any negatives to the following changes, particularly the change in number of times the exam will be done in a year?

I think like everything in life, if we don’t prepare there will always be concerns. What I always say is that people look on the surface and automatically think they understand what the issues are. I think things that some students may have concern about is about how they will read for four exam sessions, but also remember that if they thought about it properly, they will understand that it is a matter of choice. You don’t have to do all four. Our values are opportunity, innovation, diversity and accountability. And what we are trying to do is to create opportunity. If you feel the need and you feel you can handle sitting four times in one year, then go ahead. But then if you feel you can only do two, then you do two. But however we don’t want to restrict the people that can do four. There are some employers who say they want the examination to be more frequent.

Do you have any collaboration with other accounting bodies like ICAN and ANAN?

Yes, we have a cordial relationship with ICAN and ANAN. When an ICAN member wants to convert to ACCA, they have a certain number of papers that they must do, and when an ACCA member wants to convert to ICAN, they have a certain number of papers they must do. With ANAN, it is the same thing.

What contribution do you think ACCA has made to the Nigerian economy?

On the whole, if we are looking at percentages, it will be very hard to pinpoint. But in terms of provision of qualified finance professionals who can help employers deliver, we have seen that happen. In terms of giving people the ability and the opportunity to move across borders, that has happened as well. In terms of even taking it down to younger students, we have done that as well. Ultimately, what we have made people understand is that for you to be employable, and we talk to people that are not even in finance, and what  we have told them is the one thing that is important is the need for professionalism. And we will continue to do this because one thing that is obvious in this country is that we definitely need professionals at whatever level and in whatever qualification they want to be, and we will continue to do that.