Public sector professionalisation placed firmly on African agenda
Accountants general, auditors general and the accounting profession are collaborating to build capacity of accounting professionals that are capacitated to meet the needs of the public sector.
The 5th meeting of the African Professionalisation Initiative’s Interim Oversight Board (IOB) was held at the African Union Commission in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 2 May 2018. For the first time, the IOB was fully constituted with 15 members, as was envisaged in its terms of reference. There was representation from five accountants general, five auditors general and five professional accounting organisations. The meeting was observed by representatives from the International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB), the supreme audit institution of Senegal, the African Union Commission and the newly formed African Forum of Independent Accounting and Auditing Regulators (AFIAAR).
The IOB deliberated on various aspects of the African Professionalisation Initiative which is a collaboration between the African Organisation of English-speaking Supreme Audit Institutions (AFROSAI-E), the East and Southern African Association of Accountants General (ESAAG) and the Pan African Federation of Accountants (PAFA).
The members agreed that an Academic Advisory Committee should be established to:
- initiate the development of generic learning resources,
- quality assure these resources and
- advise accounting educators on the teaching of public sector content.
The IOB agreed on the process and criteria to identify countries where the initiative’s learning resources and professionalisation methodologies can be piloted. Members also discussed a roadmap for the IOB to migrate into a permanent structure under the new brand, the African Professionalisation Initiative.
Finally, it was agreed that the three participating regional organisations, AFROSAI-E, ESAAG and PAFA will all need to contribute their experience, expertise and resources to ensure the initiative can progress with speed and benefit the continent.
The hosting of the meeting at the African Union Commission emphasised the Pan-African aspirations of the initiative and the recognition by IOB members of the vital role that the African Union and political leaders will need to play if professionalisation is to take root in the public sector. The IOB hopes that it will be the first of many engagements with the African Union and its organs.
Want to know more about the African Professionalisation Initiative? Click here to view the recently launched informative video. The API website also will also be going live soon.