Dear Editor,
It has come to the attention of the Council of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Guyana (ICAG) that various comments were published on Facebook by Mr. Nigel Hinds which seek to malign the ICAG. The Council of the ICAG wishes to inform the public of the following facts:
The ICAG was formed in 1966 and became a statutory body with the enactment of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Guyana Act 1991 (ICAG Act). Among its objectives, is the provision of training, education and examination of persons engaged in or intending to engage in the accountancy profession. To this end, the ICAG has a Joint Examination Scheme with the internationally recognised Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) to offer its professional accountancy qualification in Guyana. This offering is open to all interested persons without restriction. There are several private training institutions in Guyana which offer high-quality tuition to students in Guyana.
In addition to this membership route, members of other recognised professional accountancy bodies (e.g. AICPA, CPA-Canada, and ICAEW) are also potentially eligible for membership of the ICAG. ICAG members who wish to offer accountancy services to the public are required to have a practice license, in addition to membership. The normal requirement for the issue of a practice license by the ICAG is the continuous service for at least two years under the supervision of a practicing member of ICAG or any other recognised accountancy body. This requirement of post-qualification service is similar to what obtains in other professions and is necessary in the public’s interest.
The ICAG is a member institute of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), whose membership consists of 180 professional accountancy organisations across 135 jurisdictions. As a member institute of IFAC, the ICAG has to comply with all Statements of Membership Obligations (SMOs 1-7). SMO1 Quality Assurance requires member institutes to have a quality assurance review system in place for members performing audits of financial statements. In accordance with SMO 1, the ICAG has instituted a practice monitoring programme (quality assurance review) that applies to ICAG members offering accountancy services to the public. The programme, which commenced in 2008, is executed under the auspices of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of the Caribbean (ICAC) and is designed to assess the quality of audit work performed by practice license holders in the member jurisdictions of the ICAC – which currently includes Guyana, Barbados, Belize, Eastern Caribbean, Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago. The quality of audit work is judged against the International Standards on Auditing, the most widely recognised body of guidance for the auditing profession.
The ICAC has contracted the ACCA to perform the practice reviews in the afore-mentioned countries. Practice license holders in all territories, including Guyana, are required to make themselves available for this practice monitoring process. The reports on findings from the practice reviews are received by a special practice review committee of the ICAG, comprised of members who are not involved in practice. That committee recommends corrective measures in each case. The Council of the ICAG has been in recent years re-examining its governance framework, including its By-Laws which assist in the pursuit of the ICAG’s objectives. Following a comparative study of governance frameworks from our regional counterparts, several areas for improvement were identified including measures relative to the practice monitoring programme and continuing education of those members offering accountancy services to the public.
Various recommendations for changes to the By-Laws have consequently been presented to all members for consideration. As with any variation to By-Laws, changes will ultimately have to be decided on by the constituent membership. The Council of ICAG trusts that the explanations above will reassure the public that the ICAG continues to pursue measures that serve its statutory mandate and that are ultimately in the public’s interest.
Sincerely,
Harryram Parmesar
President