The Association of Accountancy Bodies in West Africa (ABWA) is a regional organization of the

International Federation of Accountants The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) is the global advocacy organization for the accountancy profession; mainly for the financial accounting and auditing professions. Founded in 1977, IFAC has more than 175 members and associates i ...

(IFAC). As of 2011 there were ten

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, M ...

n accounting institutes represented in ABWA.

History

The association was established on 10 August 1982 in

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 fo ...

, Nigeria, and was registered as a corporation in 1994. ABWA was initially collocated with the

Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) is a professional accountancy body in Nigeria. It is one of the two professional accountancy associations with regulatory authority in Nigeria, the other being the Association of National ...

(lCAN) in Lagos. In May 2002 the association's headquarters moved to the ICAN building in Abuja. The purpose of the Association is to develop accountancy in the region. Recognized non-governmental accountancy bodies in West African countries are encouraged to join the association.

Activities

ABWA initiated the Accounting Technicians Scheme, West Africa, which provides a recognized professional qualification for supporting staff of Chartered Accountants. Examinations for this qualification are held on the same day each year in centers throughout the region. In May 2011 The Gambia Association of Accountancy ran a three-day "Train the trainer" seminar on

International Financial Reporting Standards International Financial Reporting Standards, commonly called IFRS, are accounting standards issued by the IFRS Foundation and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). They constitute a standardised way of describing the company's f ...

(IFRS) for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) for trainers from The Gambia, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Cameroon. The seminar was supported by the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...

under the umbrella of ABWA. In May 2011 Major General Sebastian Achulike Owuama (retired), the 46th President of ICAN and the 16th President of ABWA, was elected President of the newly created Pan-African Federation of Accountants (PAFA), or Fédération Panafricaine des Experts-Comptables (FEPEC). He was elected during the inaugural meeting of PAFA in

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from :wo:daqaar, daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar ...

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...

Membership

As of 2011, ABWA had the following members: As of March 2011, the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN) had applied to become a member of ABWA.

References

{{Authority control

Organizations established in 1982 Professional associations based in Nigeria 1982 establishments in Nigeria International organizations based in Africa