ACCA Nigeria reaffirms commitment to SMEs’ growth

The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) Nigeria has highlighted the imperative of the knowledge of finance and accounting to the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), affirming the association’s focus on business-relevant qualification.

Oluwatoyin Ademola, country head of ACCA Nigeria, told BusinessDay on the sidelines of the 2014 ACCA Student Colloquium held in Lagos at the weekend that the accounting profession in Nigeria had room to grow as there is huge need for accounting transactions.

“I think there is huge need for accounting transactions and there is a huge need for accountants given the number of businesses we have and the size of the population and the foreign direct investment that continues to come into Nigeria,” she said.

“What we do at ACCA is we make sure that our qualification is business-relevant. For instance, at the different levels, we have what we call diploma in business and accounting, we have advanced diploma in business and accounting,” she said.

Noting that lack of knowledge of basic finance affects the growth of SMEs, Ademola said: “There is no organisation or firm that does not need the services of an accountant even if on part basis. SME operators can hire part time accountants to help them in the operations.”

She stressed the need for SMEs operators to leverage the various skill acquisition packages offered by the professional body, adding that the association also offers certificate training for SME to enable them to acquire the basic rudiments of finance to enhance their operations.

“We offer certificates for SME where we teach them the basic rudiments of finance. We link our members to SME sector where you can have somebody that looks at your book so that your business will grow. We also created an avenue where these SMEs’ operators will get in touch with our accountants.”

Continuing, she said: “We have moved a lot of papers to computer based which means that you can take your result immediately. This would help our students in terms of promotion and help them make decision on what to do with their life.”

She said that the association offers a range of foundation – level certificates and diplomas which provide the ideal starting point for anyone new to accounting and finance.

“Even those who do not have any formal academic qualifications, you can start with your ACCA journey at the introductory certificate, the immediate certificate or the diploma in accounting and business,” Ademola said.