THE Institute of Chartered Accountants of Zimbabwe (Icaz) has been appointed to lead in the development of international non-profit accounting guidance for Zimbabwe.
The appointment comes as Icaz has been supporting the public sector and non-profit organisation leveraging on its over a century of experience.
Icaz technical director Owen Mavengere said the country’s oldest professional accountancy body was excited about the appointment.
“Icaz is excited to be appointed as international financial reporting for non-profit organisations (NGO) project country champion, with the role of ensuring that voices of relevant stakeholders in Zimbabwe are heard and included in the process of developing international non-profit accounting guidance,” he said.
“We have created a special committee to lead the process, made up of members of the Icaz secretariat, experts from the non-profit sector and other relevant stakeholders. This will allow Icaz to take full advantage of our members’ experience to add value to the international financial reporting for non-profit organisations.”
Mavengere said several non-profit organisations in Zimbabwe are NGOs which would be engaged to ensure their views are heard, as well as auditors, donors, regulators and civil society.
There is no international accounting guidance for non-profit organisations.
Thus, the International Non-Profit Accounting Guidance is being developed by Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) and Humentum through the international financial reporting for non-profit organisations project, which was launched in 2019.
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CIPFA is a UK-based international accountancy membership and standard-setting body while Humentum is an American leading global non-profit organisation that helps and supports its counterparts.
With global funding for non-profit organisations set to decline in the coming year as countries begin to look inward owing to growing economic instability, the International Non-Profit Accounting Guidance addresses four main sector-specific accounting issues.
These are revenue from grants and donations; grant expenses; inventories; and foreign currency translation. By so doing, it is hoped resolving these issues will result in greater credibility and trust in the sector globally.
As Icaz increases focus on the sector, a special conference was held from December 14 to 15 in Nyanga to formally introduce Icaz to the sector and extend a hand to NGO leaders.
“As the first of such event in recent memory, the convention provided an excellent platform for participants to discuss and analyse various aspects of accountable resource management in the NGO sector,” Mavengere said.
He said the conference explored the regulatory environment, government expectations, tax authorities’ expectations, donor requirements, digitalisation, the role of accountable resource management, auditing practices, and the on-going development of a reporting framework for non-profit organisations by the international financial reporting for non-profit organisations project.
Mavengere said it was important for professionals in the sector to act professionally and be supported to ensure efficiency.
This will translate to great transparency and accountability, which will be a win-win for all stakeholders,” he said.
