Institute of Chartered Accountants(Ghana) :|Brief History

The Institute of Chartered Accountants (Ghana) was established by an Act of parliament, Act 170, in 1963. It is the sole body charged with the regulation of the accountancy profession in Ghana. Its members are the only persons recognized under the Companies Code (Act 179) 1963, for the purpose of audit of company accounts. It is governed by a council of eleven chartered accountants. The Council, headed by a President, holds office for a period of two (2) years.

RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE COUNCIL

(a) To conduct or provide for the conduct of the qualifying examinations for membership of the Institute or for registration as accountant under the Act and to prescribe or approve courses of study for such examination.

(b) To supervise and regulate the engagement, training and transfer of article clerks.

(d) To maintain and publish a register of chartered accountants and practice accountants.

(e) To secure the maintenance of professional standards among persons who are members of the Institute and to take such steps as may be necessary to acquaint such persons with the methods and practices necessary to maintain such standards.

(f) To maintain a library of books and periodicals relating to accountancy, and to encourage the publication of such books.

STUDY PROGRAMMES

The Institute currently runs two distinct programmes.

(a) The Professional Programme.
(b) The Technician Programme, known as the Ghana Accounting Technicians (GAT) Programme.

A candidate who successfully completes th

e professional programme and obtain a working experience in accountancy, approved by the Council of the |Institute., qualifies to use the designatory letter ‘CA’ after his/her name.

Successful completion of the GAT programme, however, opens up a way for people to take up middle-level managerial jobs and can serve a good introduction to the very determined who may wish to proceed to the professional programme.
International Affiliations/Networking

The Institute of Chartered Accountants (Ghana) is a member of two international bodies. These are:

(i) ABWA:- Association of Accountancy Bodies in West Africa
(ii) IFAC:- International Federation of Accountants

While ABWA is a sub-regional grouping of accountancy bodies in West Africa, IFAC is worldwide association, with headquarters in New York, USA.

The member countries of ABWA are:

1. Ghana 2. Nigeria 3. The Gambia 4. Liberia 5. Sierra Leo
6. Senegal 7. Togo 8. Benin 9. Cote d’voire 10. Cameroon