Adhere to professional code of conduct: EACC to accountants
18:04:2024: The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission has asked members of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants (ICPAK) not to open themselves up to be used as conduits for corruption, or to assist in corrupt schemes.
This was said by Director, Ethics and Leadership, FCPA John Lolkoloi at a Practical and Ethics Compliance training for the professional members of ICPAK in Mombasa on 12th April 2024.
In a presentation done on his behalf by Christine Mweu, an investigations officer, Mr Lolkoloi called upon the accountants to adhere to professional ethics including integrity, objectivity, professional competence and due care.
The Director called on professional bodies to take disciplinary action against members who breach codes of ethics or engage in corruption adding that as experts, they should support law enforcement agencies.
Practical Ethics and Compliance training is one of the mandatory trainings for practicing certificate consideration for accountants. This year’s training was themed, Ethical considerations for the professional accountants. Director Lolkoloi’s presentation zeroed in on the role of EACC in mitigating fraud, and ethical conduct enhancement.
He singled out public procurement and public finance as the most corruption prone areas. For public procurement, he said, engaging in projects without planning, kickbacks, conflict of interest, bid rigging, exploitative terms of contract, and supply of substandard goods were the most common ills. False invoices, overpayments, ineffective planning and implementation of budget, payroll maladministration, illegal allowances, misappropriation of funds, and poor asset management took Centre stage in public finance.
To prevent corruption, Mr Lolkoloi recommended continuous systems reviews and Corruption Risk Assessment targeting Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and County Governments, and advisories given on corruption prevention under the performance contracting framework; Integrity Suitability Verification for candidates seeking public appointments; and ooversight over development, implementation and enforcement of Codes of Conduct and Ethicsacross public service.
He also recommended regulation of bank accounts held by public officers outside Kenya through approvals and processing annual bank statements by account holders; oversight over wealth declaration by all state and public officers; and continuous training, education and awareness programs targeting the public, public entities, private sector, learning institutions and general citizens.
