Gambia Association of Accountants (GAA) recently held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the Paradise Suites Hotel in Kololi.
Giving his annual report before members of the association, the President of the GAA, Babucarr Khan, informed his members that outgoing members of the association were elected into office in December 2012.
He said that since then the association had registered significant milestones in the development of the accountancy profession in The Gambia to ensure a professional body.
“We are ready and well positioned to take up our rightful role in the advancement of business and the wider socio-economic agenda of The Gambia,” Mr Khan said.
He informed his members that they had seen an increase in the number of paying members compared to the past years, adding that current paid-up number of 72 chartered accountants is way on the low side.
According to Khan, in 2010, The Gambia was subjected to a diagnostic review on the Observance of Standards and Codes (ROSC); on the status of the accountancy profession in an exercise completed in the same year.
The most significant outcome of the review, he noted, was the need to develop the legal framework to better support the accountancy profession culminating the enactment of the Financial Act 2013.
Mr Khan informed his members that the Gambia Institute of Chartered Accountants (GICA) will be responsible for registering members who qualify as chartered accountants, as well as students pursuing professional accountancy training, practicing auditors, issuing practicing certificates, conducting national professional qualification examinations, establishing a code of professional conduct and ethics including disciplinary procedures, and carrying out research affecting the profession among others.
The association treasurer, Lamin Njie, in his financial statement report from the periods ended 31st December 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013, said the position of their association had been improved over the past four years.
“The collection of members’ subscriptions has been the principal source of revenue, which increased to GMD 718,500 in 2013 from GMD 462,787 in 2010, GMD 350,629 in 2011 and GMD 324,850 in 2012 respectively,” Njie told his members.
