Abiodun Muritala, the Accountant-General of Lagos State, has called upon the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) to incorporate public secondary schools in its upcoming finance competition targeted at nurturing young finance talent.
The initiative also aims to foster financial education and literacy among students, serving as a pathway to professional and career success.
He made this known to BusinessDay at the just concluded nationwide finale of the ACCA Secondary School Finance Competition (SSFC) 2023 in Lagos involving Loyola Jesuit College from the north, Trinitate International School (south), and Rainbow College (west).
“Coming up next year, the only aspect that I need ACCA to look into will be the area of public school. I attended a public school and today, I’m the accountant general of Lagos.
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“It shows that there are great pupils in the public school, please bring them on board, I’m sure they will be able to compete with these fantastic students,” he urged the organisers.
In addition, the accountant-general lauded ACCA for organising the competition across the country. “This is the right investment and I’m sure you’re going to reap it.”
The competition occurred between November 4 and 18, 2023, in Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt, with 10 schools representing each zone. The national winner received N2 million in addition to a capacity-building session for the school’s staff, while the first and second runners-up received N1 million and N500,000 respectively, which was given to students and teachers.
Loyola Jesuit College, representing the north won the competition while Trinitate International School (south), and Rainbow College (west) were first and second runners-up respectively.
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“Winners of today’s national competition will not only receive cash prizes and a plaque for each member of the team but also a one-month internship opportunity with an ACCA-approved employer,” said Olubukola Adewuyi, chair of the Secondary School Finance Competition Advisory Committee.
According to her, accountancy is an excellent choice for people of talent, industry, and ambition, who want to make a positive contribution to society and to make a good life for themselves and their families.
ACCA is a leading global accountancy profession with a diverse community of over 247,000 members and 526,000 future members in 181 countries, united by common values of integrity, inclusion and innovation.
