The Vice-Chancellor, Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago-Iwoye, Professor Ganiyu Olatunji Olatunde, has identified accountants as important professionals crucial to ensuring order within the society. He said accountants contributed immensely to the achievements so far recorded by his administration and pledged to continue to support any effort to enhance the accounting profession within the University system and the nation at large.
Prof. Olatunde recently made the remarks when the executive and members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Ijebu-Ode and District Society led by their Chairman, Mrs Taiwo Morenikeji, paid him a courtesy visit at his office.
The courtesy visit was part of the activities marking the 2021 International Accounting Day celebration. Every 10th November is designated to commemorate the International Accounting Day across the world.
The Vice-Chancellor, who congratulated the ICAN members for witnessing this year’s celebration, noted that the University was proud to be associated with them. He stated that the significance of the accounting profession cannot be over-emphasised. According to hm, the profession confers on accountants the ability to manage financial, human and material resources.
Prof. Olatunde said, “Once you are able to manage financial resources, you should be able to manage human and material resources. And that’s why the accounting profession is one of the most recognised all over the world and probably the profession that a lot of people take pride in.
“We are proud to be associated with the accountants in this University and elsewhere, we know without them, we may not be able to have order within the society. Because once you don’t have good financial arrangement, you will rupture the system.”
The Vice-Chancellor pointed out that the achievements made since his inception of office, including prompt payment of salaries and allowances as well as infrastructural upgrade, were not without the contributions of accountants.
“We’ve been able to develop our system because we have a sound accounting system headed by the Bursar who is always there to advise us. We are appreciative of your profession and I must say that we’ve been able to do this much, with collective efforts of everybody, but most importantly the guidance of the Bursar in ensuring that our finances are good,” he added.
Prof. Olatunde, who commended ICAN for previously gifting the University a befitting 250-seater auditorium at the
Faculty of Administration and Management Sciences assured that the institution would support everything that has to do with the growth of the accounting profession and its members. He vowed not to relent in making opportunities for training and capacity building available for accountants within the University system to hone their skills and improve their competencies “We will always encourage all professionals within the system to update their knowledge. They must go for constant training; its one thing I believe very strongly in. Once you don’t update and retrain yourself, you will just be there and won’t know the new techniques that are going on,” he observed.
Earlier in her speech, the Chairman, Ijebu-Ode and District Society of ICAN, Mrs Taiwo Morenikeji, said members of the professional body decided to visit the Vice-Chancellor and identify with him because he had been a great pillar of support to chartered accountants. She noted that accountants in the University had enjoyed several opportunities of training and capacity development among other professionals within the system. Morenikeji, who stated that every 10th November has been set aside to celebrate professional chartered accountants throughout the world, disclosed that her members had earlier embarked on a health walk to further create awareness before the courtesy visit to the University.
She said, “Ijebu-Ode and District Society have been in existence since 2011. Our members cut across all sectors. This International Accounting Day is for us to celebrate ourselves and we are using this celebration to remind charge and encourage all the professional accountants to uphold our motto: accuracy and integrity.”
“Accounting is the only profession that we know that God even has a hand in it because when we leave this world, we will give account of stewardship of how we spent our lives.
Accountants are valuable in organisations and there is no organisation that you would not need accountants because we are there to manage resources and play advisory role in governance.”
The ICAN boss underscored the importance of regular training for accountants, urging the University to continue to render support to the professional body by sponsoring its members working in the school to relevant conferences and workshops.
“You cannot give what you don’t have. Accountants have the interest of this University at heart. Professional training adds value to the service rendered to the University,” she added.
Morenikeji also used the opportunity to intimate the Vice-Chancellor of the plan by the Ijebu-Ode and District Society to host the Western Zonal Conference of ICAN between February 14 and 17, 2022 and solicited the support of the University Management in making the forthcoming event a success.
“We pledge our unalloyed loyalty that we will continue to move this University forward. We will not hesitate to add value to our work and to this University,” she submitted.
Apart from the Vice-Chancellor, other members of the University Management who were on ground to receive the ICAN delegation, included the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Academic, Prof. Deji Agboola; Registrar, Mr Femi Ogunwomoju; University Librarian, Dr Adebambo Oduwole; and the Bursar, Mr Semiu Makinde, who is also a prominent member of the Ijebu-Ode and District Society of ICAN.
