The Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN) on Saturday in Abuja inaugurated Professor Benjamin Osisioma as its 12th President and Chairman of the Governing Council.
In his inaugural speech, Osisioma said that one of the immediate tasks of his administration would be to build additional structures and work out existing arrangements that would make it possible for the ANAN University and the Nigerian College of Accountancy (NCA), Jos to co-exist side by side.
He challenged the NCA to rise to the occasion of expanding, extending and enlarging student enrolment to attain at least 10,000 per annum within the next five years.
“We owe the success story of our past to our heroes and heroines who toiled with little or no rewards to get us to where we are. We will not forget them
It would also be quite appropriate to acknowledge today the sacrifice of ANAN members. They are the real heroes – the geese that lays the golden eggs,’’ the new ANAN president said.
On fiscal control and fund mobilization, Osisioma said within the approval of the Council, the council will offer a hefty discount to all members which will clear subscription arrears within the next six months.
According to him, this administration hopes to make extensive moves to improve corporate governance in ANAN and overhaul the entire administrative machinery,
He added that, “In the same way, the administration shall seek support of Council to introduce Regional offices for the regular operations of the association.
“As a first step, Lagos shall be used as the Regional office for the South West. Additional offices will be opened in Enugu and Kano.
“In addition, we shall create a small Administrative Unit in the Presidency to improve the efficiency and response time of the Presidency to challenges of leadership and governance.
“Also, an Advisory Committee will be appointed to work with the President throughout the two-year term of this Presidency to ensure sound decisions, efficient implementation and effective outcome on all policy matters,’’ Osisioma said.
He also mentioned the need for an upswing for a digitized environment as one of the unintended effects of the COVID pandemic.
The new ANAN president expressed concern why the association had not been able to leverage on its intimidating resource base comprising men and women of distinction in public and private sectors to mobilise and secure needed support from these organisations.
“The time has come for every worthy professional to stand up to be counted; they need to write their names in gold as vibrant contributors to the creation of a new order.
“We have a new and modern College of Accountancy to build, Regional offices to develop, Nationwide Teaching and Learning to re-engineer, National Conferences and Workshops to sponsor and Training and Capacity Building sessions to organize.
“Closely allied to the foray into the public space, ANAN needs a return to the practice we had in the days of Dr Sam Nzekwe. The administration sponsored television outings, where some of our best brains and skilled manpower contributed to the solution of the nation’s problems.
“It was a costly outing but it paid rich dividends,’’ he said.
Osisioma also noted that the Society for Forensic Accounting and Fraud Prevention (SFAFP) today offered the only opportunity in the country where professionals were trained in forensic accounting with properly articulated forensic tool kit and technical know-how.
He lauded the level of acceptance that ANAN had been able to generate globally, saying that the present administration would undertake to sustain the global confidence in the ANAN brand.
“On my part, I personally commit to a virtue-oriented approach to decision making based on a foundation of value-based leadership,’’ the new ANAN president noted.
In his handover speech, the Immediate Past President of ANAN, Professor Muhammad Mainoma, said in the last two years, digital technology, globalisation and regulation were main issues for the future accountant.
According to him, we were able to conduct most of the teachings in the college (NCA) virtually.
He said that the association’s Conference for 2020 was both physical and virtual, saying that the association had a number of virtual meetings.
He also talked about effective manpower development put in place by his administration for the system to work, with defined line of responsibilities.
On examination development, Mainoma noted that the decentralization of examination had the additional advantages of attracting more members since the convenience of writing close to your place of domicile might be a factor in choosing whether to apply or not.
As part of efforts in repositioning for growth, he noted that the association had introduced in-house physical and virtual Mandatory Continuing Professional Development (MCPD).
“The restructuring in the office and also the employment of people to man the directorates created, was also part of the efforts in repositioning, ‘’ Mainoma said.
He added that his administration was able to complete the 2,500 seater ultra-modern auditorium at the NCA, Jos and renovated the college facilities.
He said the association was able to acquire a four-storey building to serve as the new nation secretariat of the association.
Mainoma mentioned that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved the establishment of a university by the association known as ANAN University, Kwall, saying that the pursuit of a establishing a polytechnic was still ongoing.
He noted that ANAN entered into discussion and partnership with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.
According to him, the association signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) to explore opportunities for collaboration for mutual benefits of the two bodies.
The Chief Executive Officer of ANAN, Dr Nuruddeen Abdullahi, in his review of year 2020, said the Annual General Meeting was held both virtually and physically.
He added that the 25th Annual Conference was also held in Abuja, saying that 556 members were elevated to the status of Fellows.
On membership admission, Abdullahi said that 2,926 members were inducted and admitted into the association.
The chief executive officer noted that over 9,000 members participated in the sessions and took part in different aspects of the MCPD training.
“During the year under review, the bi-annual Mandatory Professional Practitioners Forum (MPPF) was held in a combined session due to the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown,’’ Abdullahi said.
Members at the AGM ratified the resolution of the Governing Council of ANAN which proposed the change in designation of the Registrar/Chief Executive to Chief Executive Officer.
 on Saturday in Abuja inaugurated Professor Benjamin Osisioma as its 12th President){kind=link}