Matiang’i urge ICPAK to help government fight corruption in public sector
Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i has urged the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (ICPAK) to give impetus in the fight against corruption by striking off rogue accountants from their members list.
Matiang’i further reassured the country’s financial advisers that they are protected under the law from “retaliation by employers or clients in the event they expose any corruption-related occurrences” that they encounter while performing their responsibilities.
At the 39th (ICPAK) Annual Seminar in Mombasa, Matiang’i stated that accountants have a responsibility to help end corruption in public procurement by ensuring that payments they process are properly supported by necessary documentation and enforcing strict identification protocols.
“You are critical players in matters related to financial accountability in all sectors of the economy and our foot soldiers in the war against graft and misuse of public resources at both levels of government. You sit at the heart of these organizations to prevent wrong-doing and ensure transparent and accurate financial reporting,” Matiang’i said.
In the aftermath of the coronavirus outbreak, Matiang’i indicated that the government is willing to work with the ICPAK and other professionals to design policies that promote peace, stability, and speedy economic recovery.
He expressed worry about “an exceptional increase in the number of corruption-related cases submitted by EACC before the Anti-Corruption Court that implicate accountants in both the public and private sectors, urging ICPAK to prosecute those accountants linked to graft.”
Despite massive efforts to combat corruption, such as training accountants, the Interior CS stated that “numerous cases across the public sector where accountants fail to detect fraudulent transactions and lack of diligence in the use of the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS), leading to the loss of public funds” continue to be reported.
According to CS, PWC’s 2020 Global Kenya Economic Crime and Fraud Survey (Kenya Report) revealed that Kenyan businesses lost close to Sh5.5 billion in the last 24 months due to economic crimes such as procurement fraud, asset theft, bribery and corruption, and fraud.
Accounting and financial statement fraud, he claimed, accounted for more than 14 percent of the Sh5.5 billion loss.
“I challenge ICPAK to ensure that its membership update their skills through rigorous training, weeding out unscrupulous individuals, upholding integrity at personal and professional levels, and by strictly holding the highest levels of professional ethics and codes of conduct,” he said.
