Accountants challenged to embrace three Ps
National Planning Commission (NPC) director general Thomas Chataghalala Munthali has challenged accountants to avail their expertise and the embrace three Ps of productivity, partnership and positivity as Malawi races towards a middle-income economy.
He said on Thursday in Mangochi during the 2023 Institute of Chartered Accountant in Malawi (Icam) Annual Lakeshore Conference themed ‘Creating value and building a sustainable economy towards Malawi 2063’ that accountants have the technical know-how in terms of how to invest in bankable projects.
Munthali said: “These [accountants] are technical guys, they know the nitty-gritties of how we can go about investing in the economy, how we can put together public sector reforms around finance management, around fiscal incentives that can attract and retain investors here in Malawi.”
He observed that as the country is moving towards a development State characterised by strong State intervention, with various economic sectors needing bankable investments, accountants are fit for that purpose.
He praised accountants for showing that they can do it at a firm level, citing how some accountants teamed up on the management buyout of Automotive Products Limited which became an indigenous black Malawian-owned firm in October 2005.
“We have seen accountants setting up a big firm. If they have done it at firm level, they can also do it national level,” he said.
Speaking earlier, Icam president Moffat Ngalande touted the institute’s role, adding that it has propelled the accountancy profession to become the beacon and benchmark for other institutes in Malawi.
He said Icam’s mission has always been to foster excellence in the field of accountancy, emphasising that the conference, which attracted more than 1 300 delegates, exemplifies its commitment to that mission.
This year’s conference marked 10 years since Icam was incorporated in 2013 following the merger of Public Accountants Examination Council and Society of Accountants in Malawi.
