Accountants decry TZ, Kenyan laws
Sep 16, 2010
UGANDAN accountants have cried foul over the way they are sidelined by laws governing accountancy in Kenya and Tanzania.
By David Ssempijja
UGANDAN accountants have cried foul over the way they are sidelined by laws governing accountancy in Kenya and Tanzania.
Local accountants are not happy that whereas certified public accountants (CPA) from Kenya and Tanzania are recognised and freely employed in Uganda, the two countries are doing the opposite to Ugandans.
“This situation stands in the way of free movement of labour according to the East African Community common market protocol.
“We need to harmonise these laws such that our counterparts in Kenya and Tanzania can consider reciprocating the freedom they enjoy here,†said Gerald Kasanya, the chief executive officer for the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Uganda (ICPAU).
Kasanya said laws in the two countries subject Ugandan accountants to tax and law examinations before they are enrolled for any job.
He was speaking in an interview on the sidelines of the institute’s 15th annual seminar at Imperial Resort Beach Hotel, Entebbe on Wednesday.
Kasanya said accountants, who graduate from ICPAU, are members of the International Federation of Accountants and the Eastern, Central and Southern African Federation of Accountants.
“This is enough to convince Kenya and Tanzania that Ugandan accountants measure up to the demands of the whole East African labour market,†he argued.
While opening the seminar, finance minister Syda Bbumba cautioned accountants to insist on the professional code of ethics.
She said the Accountants Act was being reviewed to make it relevant.
to the present circumstances.
“The Accountants Bill is under review and everything possible is being done to get the amendments through,†she said.
The Act contains a range of inapplicable provisions like the one requiring that two lecturers from Makerere University must be appointed to the ICPAU examination board, marginalising other universities.
In the amendment process, accountants want to separate the currently combined legal and dynamic operational regulations such that the operational provisions are changed through by-laws that don’t require the involvement of Parliament.
Concerns were also raised that Uganda was experiencing a shortfall of over 1,500 qualified accountants, half the region’s recommended number by the World Bank .
The country has about 1,500 professional qualified accountants, lagging behind in the region if compared with Tanzania with more than 3,000 and Kenya over 5,000.
UGANDAN accountants have cried foul over the way they are sidelined by laws governing accountancy in Kenya and Tanzania.
Local accountants are not happy that whereas certified public accountants (CPA) from Kenya and Tanzania are recognised and freely employed in Uganda, the two countries are doing the opposite to Ugandans.
“This situation stands in the way of free movement of labour according to the East African Community common market protocol.
“We need to harmonise these laws such that our counterparts in Kenya and Tanzania can consider reciprocating the freedom they enjoy here,†said Gerald Kasanya, the chief executive officer for the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Uganda (ICPAU).
Kasanya said laws in the two countries subject Ugandan accountants to tax and law examinations before they are enrolled for any job.
He was speaking in an interview on the sidelines of the institute’s 15th annual seminar at Imperial Resort Beach Hotel, Entebbe on Wednesday.
Kasanya said accountants, who graduate from ICPAU, are members of the International Federation of Accountants and the Eastern, Central and Southern African Federation of Accountants.
“This is enough to convince Kenya and Tanzania that Ugandan accountants measure up to the demands of the whole East African labour market,†he argued.
While opening the seminar, finance minister Syda Bbumba cautioned accountants to insist on the professional code of ethics.
She said the Accountants Act was being reviewed to make it relevant.
to the present circumstances.
“The Accountants Bill is under review and everything possible is being done to get the amendments through,†she said.
The Act contains a range of inapplicable provisions like the one requiring that two lecturers from Makerere University must be appointed to the ICPAU examination board, marginalising other universities.
In the amendment process, accountants want to separate the currently combined legal and dynamic operational regulations such that the operational provisions are changed through by-laws that don’t require the involvement of Parliament.
Concerns were also raised that Uganda was experiencing a shortfall of over 1,500 qualified accountants, half the region’s recommended number by the World Bank .
The country has about 1,500 professional qualified accountants, lagging behind in the region if compared with Tanzania with more than 3,000 and Kenya over 5,000.