By PROVIDENCE OBUH

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN)  said it would prepare and present a  Whistle blower Bill to the National Assembly for consideration and passage as part of  its  contributions to the fight against corruption.

Newly elected President of the Institute, Mr. Adedoyin Owolabi,  said this in his inaugural speech during his Investiture as the 48th ICAN President at the Institutes.  “Criminals are now becoming more ingenious and scientific in their approaches to fraud and related crimes. As professionals, we must be many steps ahead of them such that criminals are precluded from benefiting from their crimes.

“Thus, as we step up our strategic capacity building efforts in the areas of Investigations, Digital Audit, Fraud and Forensic Accounting, we will continue to partner with other professional bodies and agencies of government to rid the nation of corruption, sharp and unethical practices.

As professionals, we will continue to walk our talk by proactively delivering on our mandate as the conscience of the nation. Pursuant to this, we would, during the year, prepare and present a Whistle blower Bill to the National Assembly for consideration and passage as part of our contributions to the fight against corruption.

“We would step up aggressive campaigns to enforce compliance with subsisting legislations designed to promote accountability in governance like the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) Act 2007, the  Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007, the Public Procurement Act 2007, Freedom of Information Act 2011, Financial Reporting Council (FRC) of Nigeria Act 2011, Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011, etc.

“We intend to be actively involved and indeed, be on the driving seat of the process for the renaissance of our nation’s value systems. We will continue to expose ethical compromises and sanction deviants whose conduct, which, if not checked, can demean and bring the hard-earned and towering goodwill/image of the Accountancy Profession to disrepute. As professionals, we must stand up and be counted on the side of equity and justice both in words and in actions.”