The Institute of Chartered Accountants Ghana (ICAG) has launched its faculty system to provide an interactive platform for its members across the various sectors of country to upgrade their competencies.

The council of ICAG has approved the establishment of faculties in financial reporting, audit and assurance, corporate financial management, corporate governance, taxation and fiscal policy, and public financial management.

The faculty system would provide leadership to develop the chartered accountant professional skills and to offer advice and advocacy to influence and promote sound accounting practice and accountability in the country.

Professor Kwame Boasiako Omane-Antwi, President of ICAG, explained at the ceremony, in Accra at the weekend, that faculties in professional accountancy systems were voluntary groupings of members of a professional accountancy body based on specialized interest in a particular area of accountancy field.

Prof Omane-Antwi said the faculties would provide opportunity for chartered accountants to make contributions by providing input towards the expansion of knowledge and to create a real-world experience base through interaction.

He said the Institute’s faculty would provide its members with up-to-date business ideas, the attest management and decision making tools, unbiased and independent information, and help chartered accountants to become more effective.

“With the establishment of these faculties chartered accountants would be able to better understand the needs of this complex and ever-changing profession in the real-world to address the needs of both public and private sectors of the economy creatively and ingenuity,” he stated.

He noted that the chartered accountants through the faculty system could play their advocacy roles by responding to public debates on accountancy and also respond to government and regulatory bodies and influence domestic and international policy and legislation.

Professor Omane-Antwi urged chartered accountants to uphold the core tenets of the profession, which is integrity, and play its gate keeping role without fear or favour to protect the interest of the public.

The faculty members of the institute were inaugurated as founding deans and vice deans.