Why my book focuses on the struggles of Accountants

  The author of ‘Revolution of the Accountancy Profession in Nigeria’, Mr Olumuyiwa Sosanya, stressed that it was written to highlight the intense struggle for the establishment of the Association of National Accountants in Nigeria (ANAN) in order to give more Nigerian accountants opportunities in the profession. Mr. Sosanya who was the founding father of […]

 

The author of ‘Revolution of the Accountancy Profession in Nigeria’, Mr Olumuyiwa Sosanya, stressed that it was written to highlight the intense struggle for the establishment of the Association of National Accountants in Nigeria (ANAN) in order to give more Nigerian accountants opportunities in the profession.

Mr. Sosanya who was the founding father of the association in 1979 said this at the book’s official launch recently. He pointed out that the title could have been ‘A History of Accountancy in Nigeria’ but the association’s struggle, which is like a war, too centre stage. “Whoever reads the book will know how ANAN came to be,” he said.

Segun Ayobolu, who reviewed the 400-page book, stated that ANAN was formed in 1979 by Omooba Olumuyiwa Sosanya and two of his colleagues to counter the alleged regressive grip of ICAN on the profession, adding that to make it a reality, Sosanya sponsored a private bill before the National Assembly, where it passed the public hearing stage, despite stiff opposition.

Mr. Ayobolu who took the audience through the formation and survival of the body said what spurred Mr Sosanya was the provision of the ICAN 1965 Act that discriminated against other accountants’ qualifications and gave the Institute the monopoly of practice.

“For instance, between 1965 and December 1978, ICAN succeeded in producing 55 professional accountants through its examinations. Conservatively, the Nigerian Law School produced 2,405 lawyers between 1966 and 1978. However, with the emergence of ANAN, it produced 300 professional accountants between 1978 and 1981, which showed the benefits of competition.

“The failure of ICAN to address acute shortage of professional accountants means that over 30,000 limited liability companies, government departments, corporations and other incorporated companies in Nigeria lack the necessary expertise in that area. The implication was the importation of accountants from India, Pakistan, Philippines and other developed countries into Nigeria, which of course meant a drain on the nation’s foreign reserve and forced redundancy of otherwise qualified professional accountants in Nigeria,” he stressed.

Malam Sidi Ali, one of the few surviving members of the House of Representatives in the Second Republic, who gave account of the journey of the ANAN bill said “there were cabals that did not want the bill to see the light of day; they were bent on maintaining the status quo.”