Economic Expansion Increases Demand For Accountants

Priya Iyer said the new Companies Act of 2003 which came into effect in July 2007 demands that companies within a given threshold should be audited and should also comply with International Financial Reporting Standards. She stated that this meant many companies in the country fall into this category.

She said the situation has caused a significant increase in the demand for accountants in the economy, to cope with the requirements of the new Act. Iyer was talking at a career presentation video to the Education Minister, Jacob Nkate. She said that BIA estimates show that only 20% of demand is currently being met by the available professional accountants in the country. "Of this 20%, a large percentage of 67% represents expatriates and only the remaining 23% being citizen accountants," she said.