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Board to flush out unregistered accountants

 

Malawi Accountants Board (MAB) has said it will flush out all accountants both in the public and private sector who have not yet registered with the board beginning next month.

MAB chief executive officer Dumbo Muwalo said this on Tuesday in Lilongwe during the Sectoral Conference on the Implementation of Public Sector Reforms.

Muwalo: This will improve reporting

He said unregistered accountants, including all individuals working in accounting-related professions will now be liable to a penalty of K100 000 and two years’ imprisonment.

According to MAB, about 1 400 accountants have registered with the board. The board, however, targets to have about 5 000 accountants registered.

Said Muwalo: “This will improve the reporting, credibility of financial statements and leave the wealth of institutions in the hands of professionals.

“Initially, it was voluntary. We started the process in 2014. But we observed that not everybody is coming up so, we have set up deadlines to come up with sanctions as the law provides.”

In a separate interview, Institute of Chartered Accountants in Malawi (Icam) president Henry Chowawa said the idea behind having every accountant registered is to live up to certain expectations and standards.

“It is now a requirement for anyone who wishes to practise accounting to be registered and you can only be registered through Icam,” he said.

The board has said it will start reviewing financial statements and reports for public interest entities which is within their mandate. n

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