ICAEW and the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) have teamed-up with a government-funded programme that supports developing countries. Helen Roxburgh wrote about it here.
The Investment Facility for Utilising Specialist Expertise (IFUSE) is funded by the Department for International Development (DFID), and aims to provide developing countries with access to UK expertise to help create the infrastructure needed for growth. Past examples of its work include experts from the Office of Fair Trading training officials at the Competition Commission of Pakistan, and HMRC supporting officials at the Tanzanian Revenue Authority to make it easier for citizens and businesses to pay their taxes.
You get more information on IFUSE here and here from the Gov.UK website.
Back to what the story said:
ICAEW and CIPFA will be the first chartered accountancy bodies to join the network. Staff will be deployed on short term assignments to train officials and assist with developing and implementing policies to improve transparency, public financial management and financial accountability.
International development secretary Justine Greening said, “Our accountancy profession is world class, and these ground-breaking partnerships will allow countries in the developing world to benefit from the very best expertise Britain has to offer.”
Justine Greening, who qualified as a chartered accountant with Price Waterhouse (now PwC) and worked for 15 years in finance before becoming an MP, said, “It is not just about pulling in the private sector in to help these countries, it is about pulling in the best expertise, which includes our accountancy profession. The IFUSE programme matches British expertise with expertise gaps in developing countries. “Most of what we have done so far has been using expertise from within government. What we are saying now is that we can take this programme and use it with something like the UK’s fantastic accounting profession.”
ICAEW’s chief executive Michael Izza said, “Government departments, regulators and businesses all need reliable financial information and the guidance of professional accountants. We realise that strengthening national accountancy institutes will contribute to economic growth and we are assisting our development partners to create a new generation of accountants so that their countries can evolve independently.”
ICAEW already has a dedicated team for international development and has undertaken around 20 capacity building projects in 15 countries over five years, mostly in Africa and Asia.
The countries covered by IFUSE include Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Burma, DR Congo, Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Malawi, Nigeria, Occupied Palestinian Territories, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Tanzania, Uganda, Vietnam, and Zimbabwe.
The announcement coincides with a meeting between Justine Greening and the top five accountancy institutes to discuss how they can co-operate with DFID.
There will be more from Greening and more on the ICAEW’s capacity-building projects in the February issue of economia.
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