It appears ICAN has woken up to the fact that a lot more Nigerians students are taking ACCA exams rather than ICAN exams as they find it more compatible with their needs. This has made ICAN respond in one of their fiercest statements ever about the issue following a barrage of questions from students. Here is their response as culled from Thisday
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) has stated that there only two chartered accounting bodies in Nigeria that have the authority to licence professional accountants.
They are ICAN and the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN).
ICAN said it made the clarification due to enquiries from Nigerian students and the general public on the proliferation of foreign accountancy bodies operating in the country without the required enabling act from the National Assembly.
A statement from the institute further stressed that students that sit for examinations of foreign professional bodies “cannot practise in Nigeria without being admitted as members of ICAN or ANAN.”
It added: “In the public interest, ICAN will still test candidates in subjects peculiar to the Nigerian market and assure that required experience is obtained before candidates are licensed to practise.
“The training of ICAN is strictly based on three “Es” namely: education, examination and experience.”
It specifically stated that under its 2014 examination syllabus, holders of Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and many other foreign professional accountancy certificates would still be tested in Business Law (BL), Advanced Taxation (ATAX) and Public Sector Accounting and Finance (PSAF).
Furthermore, it stated that Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) holders would in addition be tested in Advanced Audit and Assurance (AAA).
“The examination syllabus and education requirements of ICAN are guided by International Federation of Accountants’ (IFAC) International Education Standards for Professional Accountants issued by the International Accounting Education Standards Board (IAESB).
“ICAN is also a signatory to IFAC’s Statements of Membership Obligations (SMOs). ICAN wishes to reaffirm its public interest mandate to provide the Nigerian economy with qualified and ethical professional accountants that can compete with their peers globally.
“We therefore call on parents, students, regulators, employers, law-enforcement agencies and the general public to be guided by this announcement,” it added.
ICAN was established by Act of Parliament Number 15 of 1965 and is a founding member of IFAC, Pan African Federation of Accountants (PAFA) and the Association of Accountancy Bodies in West Africa (ABWA).