The Association of National Accountants of Nigeria, on Thursday, called for legislative protection for whistleblowers in the country.
ANAN President, Mr. Anthony Nzom, who made the call during the association’s 4th session of the 2015 Mandatory Continuing Professional Development Programme held in Umuahia, Abia State, said the war against corruption would not succeed without an adequate legislative protection for whistleblowers.
He said that ANAN’s contribution to the anti- graft campaign of President Muhammadu Buhari would be to support legislative protection for whistleblowers, journalists and media outfits exposing corruption in both public and private sectors.
The ANAN president enjoined members to shun temptations by chief executives and politicians to falsify figures and corruptly enrich themselves.
He said that no fraud could successfully occur in a system without the collusion of accountants.
“Accountants know whatever money that enters or leaves the system but our politicians are usually the ones that deceive us. They dip their fingers in a pot of honey and touch our lips but while we are leaking our lips, they run away with the pot.
“If they ask you to bring money and you give them paper to sign, you will see that they will not agree to sign. So, don’t soil your hands because of politicians; when the trouble comes they will deny you,” he said.
Nzom also urged members to embark on retraining programmes in order to enhance their professional competence and versatility.
He enjoined members to learn the French language so as to boost their chances of securing jobs in francophone countries, disclosing that many countries in the West African sub-region have a short supply of professional accountants.
He stressed the need for partnership among auditing firms in the country for efficiency and better service delivery.
The highlight of the session was the induction of 218 new members from different states of the country into the professional body.
The new inductees were advised by the Registrar and Chief Executive of ANAN, Dr. Sunday Ekune, to abide by the ethics of the profession and eschew all forms of unprofessional conduct.
Later, in an interview with our correspondent, one of the new inductees, an employee of the Federal Ministry of Finance, Abuja, Mrs. Ngozi Omeje, expressed fulfillment that after over 10 years of practice, she was finally inducted into the association.
“It has been a very rough road but today I am excited I made it,” she said.
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