A team from the World Bank met with the Board of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of the Caribbean (ICAC) and representatives of regional institutes (professional accountancyorganisations) in June to present the Findings of the Draft Report for a Caribbean Accounting and Auditing - ROSC and A Strategy for the Development of the Accountancy Profession in the Caribbean.
The meeting was held on June 4, 2014 at the Royal Torarica Hotel inParamaribo, Suriname. The ICAC has been collaborating with the World Bank which has been developing a Caribbean Accounting and Auditing ROSC Report which will, inter alia, identify challenges to the development of the profession in the Caribbean region and ultimately assist in improving regional corporate financial reporting.
Joseph Kizito, Lead Financial Management Specialist at The World Bank, delivered a presentation on the World Bank’s ROSC Program and its contribution to improving PAOs in the Caribbean and Senior Financial Management Specialist at The World Bank, Mozammal Hoque, presented the Concept Note and Findings of the Draft Report on the Caribbean Accounting and Auditing - ROSC. Mr. Hoque also presented a draft Strategy for the Development of Accountancy Profession in the Caribbean to the group.
ICAC President, Frank Myers, stressed the importance of having a Caribbean ROSC noting that, “inadequate corporate financial reporting is seen as one of, if not the, main impediment to economic growth, and to the extent that it is unacceptable to the international financial community, it is unlikely that the region will be able to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), which is generally recognised to be critical to the development of the region.”
“It is important therefore that regional institutes obtain the institutional capacity to regulate the profession in their jurisdictions so that potential investors can feel comfortable with the quality of the financial information they are presented with. The Caribbean ROSC will highlight the areas that need improvement, and it will direct our efforts in that regard,” he added.
Participants shared their views and comments on the findings in the draft report of the Caribbean Accounting and Auditing ROSC. It was agreed that there is need for consultations with a wider cross section of relevant parties in the Caribbean including the Central Banks as well as regional accounting institutes and governments in order to ensure the inclusion of more meaningful data in the draft report.
