Accountants must play a pivotal role ­ -Senator Morrison
published: Friday | February 25, 2005

Adrian Frater, News Editor

WESTERN BUREAU: THE INSTITUTE of Chartered Accountants of Jamaica (ICAJ) is being asked to take a proactive approach in preparing its members to respond adequately to the challenges and opportunities that the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME) will bring to Jamaica.

This challenge was issued by Senator Deika Morrison, the minister of state in the Ministry of Finance and Planning, as she addressed Wednesday's 40th Anniversary Luncheon of the ICAJ at the Holiday Inn Sunspree Resort, in Montego Bay.

SEAMLESS INTEGRATION

"A critical part of what the CSME envisages is a seamless integration that will allow professional skills in the region to be deployed across borders," said Senator Morrison, in explaining how the CSME will function.

"We have already seen how some manufacturing firms have created synergies that have facilitated easier trading among Caribbean member states."

In speaking to the importance of Caribbean integration, Senator Morrison noted that many of the large countries, whose products and services are already competing with those of Caribbean countries are themselves members of large trade zones.

"Our reality is that we cannot, as small nation states, hope to compete with these larger entities if we do not form ourselves into efficient operating units that can deliver value to the consumer at the most competitive price," she said.

In looking at the ICAJ's capacity to be responsive to the need for change, senator Morrison, lauded the organisation for its 2002 decision to adopt the International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS), which was done at a time when many large countries were just considering the merit of adopting these international standards.

"The ICAJ has always been responsive to the need for change, and in so doing, has managed to remain relevant and current in today's fast moving world," senator Morrison said. "In recent times, you have responded to the need for transparency and harmonisation in this environment."

In commending the ICAJ for the respectability it has developed over the past 40-years, Senator Morrison praise the organisation for the work it has done in honing indigenous expertise in a profession that was previously dominated by expatriate skills.