[Comment] Accountants are figuring out ways to fight poverty

From The Scotsman

ROB OUTRAM

THE leaders of the G8 meeting in Gleneagles have the problems of the poorest nations, especially the people of Africa, higher on their agenda than they have ever been before.

Here in Edinburgh this week we have seen nearly a quarter of million people marching peacefully to "make poverty history". Have accountants got anything to do with the search for a solution to Africa's problems? Actually, the answer is yes, and for a number of reasons.

One of the key planks of the Make Poverty History programme is "fair trade". Economic growth is essential to tackle poverty in the long term, and one of the factors underpinning growth and investment is a sound financial infrastructure. Without this, both aid and growth will be seriously compromised.

A combination of accountants from donor countries and a strengthened accounting profession in the developing nations can help to underpin the validity of the "audit trail" and ensure that it's clear that the money is going where it should.

A strong accountancy profession and financial reporting that is widely trusted are also vital in order to attract investment from overseas. The world is moving towards internationally accepted accounting standards, and accountants in developing countries need the appropriate training in order to make use of the opportunities that offers.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland has been involved in helping to build and develop financial skills and institutions around the world for many years now. Many of these projects have taken place in former Soviet countries, such as Russia, Kazakhstan and Armenia, but also in Bangladesh, Tanzania and Uganda.

In Uganda, for example, ICAS worked on a major project funded by the World Bank, helping the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Uganda to develop its student education curriculum, examination system and continuing professional development for members.

Individual accountants also give their time, often freely, to help developing countries. CA Kathleen McGarva, for example, provided a diary for CA Magazine of her time as a volunteer with the Voluntary Service Overseas organisation. Kathleen took a sabbatical from her job with GlaxoSmithKline to work with VSO in South Africa. After a short "in-country" induction at the township of Alexandria, she worked first in rural Limpopo province at a project set up to aid refugees, mainly from Mozambique and Zimbabwe, and then at an urban project focusing on human rights and the media.

Kathleen wrote that the highs outnumbered the lows.

She said: "One of the really good things was seeing how positive people are given their circumstances. Despite real hardships they do not complain - they make the best of what there is."

ICAS has sponsored another CA, Caroline Macleod, for her first year working with VSO in Namibia. Meanwhile a third CA, Nicola Beattie, signed up to work with the Merlin charity in Sri Lanka, supporting their response to the tsunami disaster. Nicola found her placement through the charity Mango - Management Accounting for Non-Governmental Organisations - which is supported by a number of corporate donors including large accountancy firms.

Nicola said: "I've never been the sort of accountant who is happy staring at spreadsheets all day, but this was rewarding in ways I couldn't have imagined before I started."

Research by Mango shows the importance of financial reporting to the beneficiaries of aid as well as to donors. For example, a newspaper campaign in Uganda explaining to the community how primary schools are funded reduced the "leakage" of central government funds.

In their own way, the likes of Kathleen, Caroline and Nicola are as important to the developing world as the efforts of Live 8's celebrities. But in the long term, the aim of both individual volunteers and the accountancy bodies working on overseas projects must be to share their skills and knowledge so that local people are better equipped to tackle the challenges they face.

• Rob Outram is editor of CA Magazine. The views expressed are his own.