A regional African accountancy body has been
launched in Dakar, Senegal. The Pan-African Federation of
Accountants (PAFA) is composed of 37 professional accountancy
bodies from 35 countries, with the aim of providing voice to
Africa’s accounting profession.
It is the first accountancy body to represent
the whole continent.
The PAFA secretariat will be hosted by the
South African Institute of Chartered Accountants in
Johannesburg.
Major General Sebastian Owuama, of the
Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, has been elected the
inaugural PAFA president and Mussa Assad, of the National Board of
Accountants and Auditors in Tanzania, is the vice president.
“As the economies of African countries
continue to grow, the contribution of the accountancy profession to
sound corporate and public sector financial reporting and good
governance is now more important than ever,” Owuama said.
“PAFA will accelerate the development of the
profession and strengthen the voice of the profession within Africa
and worldwide.”
International Federation of Accountants
president Göran Tidström hailed the launch as a historical event
for the accountancy profession.
“The formation of PAFA demonstrates the
commitment of the African accountancy profession, acting in the
public interest, to strengthen its means of collaboration and to
further develop the profession to support the emerging economies on
the continent,” Tidström said.
