Maintain high standards, Clarke urges accountants

Finance and the Public Service Minister Dr Nigel Clarke has called for the Public Accountancy Board and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Jamaica (ICAJ) to exercise greater vigilance in ensuring that “the noble and high professional standards” of the accounting profession are maintained in the island.

Clarke was addressing government auditors during a conference for audit committees in the public sector yesterday at The Summit Hotel in New Kingston.

The Public Accountancy Board promotes, in the public interest, acceptable standards of professional conduct among registered public accountants. The regulatory body also investigates complaints and takes disciplinary action against registered public accountants for breach of any provision of the law or any regulation.

Discussing the importance of preparing accurate financial statements for the benefit of stakeholders, Clarke said the financial sector and companies rely on accounting statements from private entities to make critical decisions.

“It is important that financial statements are produced in a manner that people can have trust and confidence in,” he said.

He said Jamaica has the most developed capital market in the Caribbean.

“For those markets to flourish and to develop we will need to be able to rely on financial statements that are produced for companies that are public,” he noted.

According to the finance minister, investors, stakeholders and others rely on financial statements that are produced by accountants. He said it was therefore important that the ICAJ and the Public Accountancy Board ensure that the standards of the profession are maintained and practices that are not in the best interest of stakeholders are discovered and discouraged.

He reminded the public that they can bring matters relating to the work of accountants to the attention of the Public Accountancy Board, which is obliged to investigate such complaints.

“It is important that my call is taken into the right context. My interest is in protecting all the citizens of Jamaica,” he said.

Meanwhile, Clarke said audit committees play a critical role in maintaining trust and confidence as well as to ensure that risk is managed and mitigated in the public sector.

With the public sector managing more than a $1 trillion in expenditure, Clarke said great care should be taken to ensure that these amounts can be accounted for.

He told auditors that when these resources are properly accounted for it builds trust and confidence in the system.

editorial@gleanerjm.com