On the completion of the July 2024 Professional Certificate Examination, the President of the Liberian Institute of Certified Public Accountant (LICPA) called on the Government of Liberia (GoL) to step up its budgetary allotment for the effective and efficient running of the institution.
LICPA is the national Professional Accounting Organization (PAO) of Liberia. It originally came into being, in 1933, as The Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Liberia Limited, under authority of an Act of the National Legislature of Liberia in that year. Speaking to reporters at the weekend at the LICPA Compound in Congo Town, on the outskirt of Monrovia, Mr. Papin Daniels says the institution needs approximately US$500,000 to be more effective. Mr. Daniels indicated that LICPA LICPA needs more funding to adequately carry out its assigned duties and responsibilities. While lauding the government for allotting funding in the national budget for the institution, he asserted that what is being allotted over the years has always been immaterial to effectively run the institution. According to him, with proper funding, the institution will be able to hire trained and qualified teachers, while at the same time offer tuition opportunities to candidates before writing their professional exam. Mr. Daniels’ assertion comes on the heel of challenges outlined by candidates who sat the just ended Professional Certificate Examination administered from July 1-5, 2024. “Let me firstly extend thanks and congratulations to the candidates. It’s not easy to write the professional exam, and so many thanks to those who mustered the courage to do so. The points raised by the candidates are germane. The Institute needs money to run adequately. We have been engaging government to see the need to provide more support. What is allocated in the budget for the school is immaterial to be effective, but we are grateful for that in the meantime as we push further,” said Mr. Daniels. “The LICPA needs funding to undertake tutorial. What government gives only caters for the secretarial staff. We need extra money to hire and attract trained and qualified teachers to come and teach, but this has been a challenge. We are hopeful that the need will be seen and government will come in. If the institute will be seen as a strategic partner to the country especially in the area of public sector financial management, then there is a need to support LICPA.” “To be effective, we need about half a million. As it is, the membership based of the institute is low. The money we get can’t even sustain the secretarial staff. We are now appealing with the government; we have spoken with the senators and I think they are seeing the need. The growth and development of any nation lies on PFM, and to go to the public sector, you need to be a professional accountant.” In remarks, Vice President, Mr. Mohammed B. Korleh, notes that the acquisition of the Professional Certificate is of great significance to any professional accountant and as such, people in the field of public financial management should take advantage of the test to acquire such. “Certainly, there have been a shift in the accounting profession, and the direction is certification. Just as you as lawyers, you cannot call somebody lawyer if he/she has not passed the Bar exam and you cannot call somebody medical doctor if he/she has not passed the Board exam, so it is with this certification. It distinguishes you from the rest of the other people in the financial management arena.” “One thing that distinguishes us more is the ethical and professional standard by which we are evaluated. You cannot be a professional accountant if you don’t uphold these. It’s a step towards better employment and better salary. Once you are in the field of finance you need this certificate.” Mr. Hector J. Wuo, Executive Director of LICPA, urged candidates and would be candidates to exert more effort by being studious, get serious about the real business sand bring the result home. “It will always be difficult, but I want to encourage you to strive higher to overcome all challenges that unfold,” he added. Also in remarks, Examiner Naomi Boadi, from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ghana (ICAG), urged LICPA to make the program more attractive for more candidates to write the examination. She also called on the Liberian government to make the test mandatory for all public accountants. “It is frustrating to do the test over and over and not pass. But I want to encourage you to devote your time and conscious effort. Tuition is paramount because if you don’t have the right tuition, you can’t make the pass so easily. The difference between you here, and Ghana is the facility. In Ghana, tuition is everywhere and that makes the program more interesting. Without tuition, you can’t easily pass the exam to be a professional accountant.” “One thing the government must do is to compel people in its employ to go through the LICPA program, and if they don’t pass through the program, they shouldn’t occupy certain position in government. This will bring out the importance of the program. This will make others to know that the program is very important.” While they remain hopeful of a success pass, the candidates decried many challenges they are confronted with such as the lack of organized body and tuition facilities that will guide them ahead of the test. “There is no study platform. We don’t have any organized body to meet as a group of accountants to even discuss the test ahead of us. Some of us have written over and over and no way because there is no guide to the process. And so I want to call on LICPA to help with study facilities. The test was competitive and we have the constraints of time. All of these are happening because we are challenged,” stated Rose Blidi, one of the candidates who sat the test.
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