2004 ICAC Caribbean Conference of Accountants - St. Lucia

Adapting to the Changing Faces of the Accounting Profession Expectations

The 22nd Annual Caribbean Conference of Accountants was hosted by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of St. Lucia under the theme "Adapting to the Changing Faces of the Accounting Profession Expectations".

The 2004 Conference was a resounding success and included the following important highlights:

• The attendance of both Her Excellency, the Governor General of St Lucia, Dame Pearlette Louisy, and the Prime Minister of St Lucia, the Hon. Dr Kenny Anthony, at the opening ceremony. Her Excellency also attended the Presidential Dinner.
• Relevant and stimulating topics presented by knowledgeable and high profile individuals.
• The selection of an exquisite venue - The Sandals Grande Beach Resort & Spa, Pigeon Island , St. Lucia .
• The impressive cultural entertainment package displayed at the President's Dinner.

Welcome remarks were conveyed by Mr. Elson Jordan , the President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of the Caribbean and Mr. Frank Myers , the President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of St. Lucia.

The opening address was delivered by Hon. Dr. Kenny Anthony Prime Minister, who is also St Lucia 's Minister of Finance, International Financial Services, Economic Affairs & Information. Sir K. Dwight Venner, Governor of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, delivered the feature address. The representative of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) to ICAC's Board, Mr. Michael Sleigh delivered an address on behalf of Allen Blewitt, the Chief Executive of ACCA. The Conference recorded 320 delegates.

The President's Dinner was also held in the hall of the Sandals Beach Resort. Entertainment comprised:

• A Folk Party - a melee of local culture
• A modeling show which showcased the designs of Chazi Chalon, a local designer
• Paul Keens- Douglas, a well known Caribbean personality and
• Barbara Cadet, a saxophonist.

The first session of the Conference was on the topic, "The Accountant as General Manager -The changing role of the Financial Controller" and was presented by Mr. Nicholas Gomez, Ernst & Young Caribbean, Trinidad.

This was followed by sessions on:

• "An Overview of the Recent Improvements to the International Accounting Standards" presented by Mr. Anthony De Bell, PricewaterhouseCoopers , United States .
• "Ethics and Integrity in the Accounting Profession in the Caribbean" presented by Dr. James Gaa, University of Alberta , Canada .

The mid afternoon sessions covered:

• "Human Capital Management" presented by Mr. L. Anthony Watkins, Odyssey Consulting, Trinidad & Tobago.
• "A Framework for Self Regulation of the Accounting Profession in the Caribbean " presented by Mr. Sha Ali Khan, Head of Monitoring and Supervision at the ACCA.

The final session of the day was:

• "IASB Insurance Project" presented by Mr. Alex Ashwal, Deloitte & Touche LLP, United States .

The technical session on Saturday, June 19th commenced with the following topics:

• "Caribbean Single Market and Economy" presented by Mr. Timothy Odle - Deputy Programme Manager; Services, CARICOM Secretariat, Guyana .
• "A Strategy for Fraud Prevention and Detection" presented by Mr. Derek Rostant - KPMG LLP, Canada .

The closing session focussed on:

• "Corporate Governance - Functions of the Board and the Role of Audit Committees" presented by the following individuals;
  - Dr. Emily Dick-Forde, University of the West Indies, Barbados
  - Dr. Michelle Causton, Canadore College, Canada.