Why Tinubu should populate his cabinet with chartered accountants – ICAN

Ahead of the release of the list of ministerial nominees of President Bola Tinubu, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) has urged the President to consider the appointment of more chattered accountants in his cabinet.

ICAN said the socio-political challenges currently facing the country calls for chattered accountants manning key positions requiring accountability, stressing that there cannot be effective governance without accountants.

In a statement on Sunday, the professional body said: “However, another quick and bold action which the President must take as he considers his ministers is the appointment of more chartered accountants in his cabinet.

“The socio-political challenges facing Nigeria today calls for the intervention of chartered accountants in public governance. Chartered accountants should man key sensitive positions requiring proper accountability as there cannot be effective public governance without accountants.

“The study we conducted provides evidence which shows that there is positive correlation between having more chartered accountants within a workforce and better organisational performance. In other words, organisations that employ more chartered accountants perform better than those employing less chartered accountants in terms of service delivery and financial performance. This has been proven empirically drawing experiences from Zenith Bank, Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS) and Lagos State government. These three organisations span private sector, a government agency and state government respectively.”

ICAN also identifid with some bold economic policy reforms which President Tinubu has initiated within the short time of assumption of office such as removal of fuel subsidy and exchange rate unification as outlined in  its previous position papers.

The body also said it backed the President’s support for clean energy transition that factors in the vast gas resources of Nigeria which it views as energy justice and will reduce debt exposure of the country.

ICAN said: “We commend him for these quick and bold actions, drawing attention to consideration of the plight of those within the low income bracket.