ICAZ membership grows

The 18 public service professionals bring the number of accountants from the public sector to 28 as the institute makes inroads into the public space.

THE Institute of Chartered Accountants of Zimbabwe (Icaz) on Thursday welcomed 180 new members, 18 of them from the public sector.

The 18 public service professionals bring the number of accountants from the public sector to 28 as the institute makes inroads into the public space.

The 180 included members from the Chartered Accountants (Zimbabwe), Articled Accountants (Zimbabwe) and Public Sector Professional Accountants (Zimbabwe) [PSPA(Z)].

Welcoming the new members at a cocktail party held in Harare, Icaz president Manyara Chigunduru said the institute believed it was on course to increase its membership without compromising integrity and quality.

“The institute aims to increase the international standing and positioning of the qualification of the Chartered Accountant (Zimbabwe) for the benefit of its members,” she said.

“Additionally, Icaz seeks to be the pre-eminent professional body in the development and promotion of accountancy, assurance and advisory services, business and good governance practices.”

Chigunduru said the vigorous training that the members went through made them strategic tools for turning around the country’s economy, while empowered to uphold and protect the institute’s brand.

“I encourage you to participate in all the activities of the institute in various capacities. You have a responsibility of upholding and protecting the brand in all its standing,” she said.

“By becoming more involved with the institute, you are well placed to understand how it operates, you can raise your profile, broaden your professional networks and learn new skills as you take positions of leadership in the corporate world.”

Icaz technical manager Owen Mavengere said: “We are using our existing knowledge and frameworks which we have gathered over the past century to help support the public sector. Apart from the PSPA(Z) for me, the second highlight was our first Vimbiso Trust beneficiary who qualified as a chartered accountant.”

“Vimbiso is our CSR (corporate social responsibility) arm which is meant to support the underprivileged but gifted students who wish to pursue accounting. She is a young girl with a story which I know can inspire so many.

“It is my sincere hope that her success story will serve as an example of what can be done to inspire and change a community or a generation.”

All new members are expected to uphold Icaz values of responsibility, honesty and integrity.

Furthermore, they are expected to adhere to the Icaz code of professional conduct, its spirit and application, to lead by example.

The key tenets of the code of professional conduct are integrity, confidentiality, objectivity, professional behaviour as well as professional competence and due care.-newsday