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Harare, Zimbabwe

The president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Zimbabwe, which recently entered into a partnership with CIPFA aimed at building public sector accounting capacity, has said the institute is working to improve public financial management in a country plagued by corruption and poor management.

Gloria Zvaravanhu said the project to facilitate professional qualifications already has financial backing from the International Federation of Accountants , and the institute will now work to ensure its success, Zimbabwe’s Newsday reports.

“We need more chartered accountants or qualified public sector accountants to be in positions to manage and help decide how public money is spent,” she continued, speaking at the institute’s winter school in Victoria Falls last week.

She explained that the move to develop a professional qualification hoped to increase the support professional accountants provide to the public sector in regards to financial management, noting that the profession’s “representation in public sector finance is limited”.

Zimbabwe’s economy, which is in the midst of a cash crisis following years of freefall, needs urgent attention, she continued, and chartered or professional accountants have a key role to play in mobilising capital and attracting foreign direct investment in the country.

Globally, she said ICAZ will strive to maintain visibility and its influence on decision making in IFAC as well as the Pan African Federation of Accountants.

She highlighted that the institute is now a “global brand”, with over half of its members practising overseas.