2006 ICAC Caribbean Conference of Accountants - Barbados

"Sharpening the Edge"

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Barbados (ICAB) hosted the 24th Annual Caribbean Conference of Accountants from June 08 -10, 2006 under the theme “ Sharpening the Edge ”. This theme was chosen as accountants reinforce the presence of the profession in business, providing the tools needed to manage change and remain competitive.

The President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of the Caribbean , Mr. L. Garth Kiddoe, and Conference Chairman, Mr. Brian Robinson , conveyed the welcome remarks.

The Conference and all social events including the showing of the World Cup Football Match - Trinidad & Tobago vs. Swede, were held at the new 5-star Hilton Barbados.

The first session of the Conference was a panel discussion on Practice Monitoring . The panel included Graham Ward - IFAC President, Allen Blewitt - ACCA CEO, Tony Ariganello - CGA President, Garth Kiddoe - ICAC President. The session was chaired by David Ellis.

The afternoon session began with, Finding the Strengths in Life , and was conducted by Barry Eligon and Axel Karavatzky of Aegis Management Solutions Ltd. This session encouraged the delegates to celebrate what is right with life. This is done by adopting the following principle” Take the positive energy that exist in people, organizations and society and use it to build a desirable future/vision, one that's grounded in reality”.

Three concurrent sessions followed:

• “Harmonizing our Currencies” by Harold Codrington who is currently the editor of the Newsletter of the Barbados Economics Society. Mr. Codrington has published papers on the Balance of Payments, Public Transport, Taxation, Monetary Union and Social Partnership.
• “Media and Information Management” by Richard Thomas the principle of Clarity Communications, a consultancy specializing in corporate communication.
• “Is the Bottom Line the Best Measure for Performance” by Dr. Emily Dick-Forde Head of the Department of Management Studies at the University of Cave hill Campus

Presentations on the morning of Saturday, June 10 began with a concurrent session on:

• “Accounting Standards for SME's” which was jointly presented by
  Tom Jones the Vice - Chairman of the International Accounting Standards Board and Russell Guthrie IFAC's Director of Compliance.
• “Business & Professional Ethics - Restoring the Cutting Edge” by Dennis Yeates ACCA Deputy President.

The President of the Institute of Chartered Accountant of the Eastern Caribbean the St. Kitts branch, Donald Thompson, did an attention-grabbing presentation on Conference 2007. This will be held at the St. Kitts Marriot Resort and Casino, Frigate Bay , over the period June 28 - 30, 2007.