Published On:Friday, November 27, 2009

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By CHESTER ROBARDS

Business Reporter

crobards@tribunemedia.net

THE BAHAMAS Institute of Chartered Accountant (BICA) may be forced to split its licensees into two separate tiers, those who have undergone the internationally mandated peer review and monitoring programme, and those who have not, the institute's president said yesterday.

Reece Chipman said that though the practice review programme is now a global industry standard, some BICA members in public practice will not be eligible to take part in the review process.

According to Mr Chipman, only 50 of 90 firms in public service will qualify for the practice review sessions supervised by members of the Association of Certified Chartered Accountants (ACCA).

These firms will undergo reviews by ACCA members out of Europe, and will eventually undertake their own reviews of their colleagues throughout the region.

Mr Chipman said all Caribbean islands that are a part of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of the Caribbean (ICAC) are mandated to undergo peer review except Jamaica - for the moment - which is regulated by a public accountant oversight board.

According to Mr Chipman, this programme will align Bahamian accountants with changing global financial regulatory standards.

"Most importantly, the world must see the Bahamas as a competent, industrious jurisdiction that meets world standards in the business of audit and accounting services," he said.

"This initiative will no doubt improve the value of financial services being offered from the Bahamas."

The peer review program is slated to begin in July 2010, but BICA must first implement a licensing body that will vet each firm for its eligibility in the peer review program. Mr Chipman said members of that body must come from outside BICA, and suggested that retired accountants chair this board.

"We want the public to understand that we are improving the standard with regard to quality of information," said Mr Chipman.

"We hope that regulators, governments and the public at large will take note of this initiative and realize that only through peer review and monitoring will they get the best service possible from their auditors.

"Therefore, selection of services should be based on whether persons are not only licensed to perform the audit function, but also whether they have gone through the necessary peer review or practice monitoring, to be in a position to effectively and efficiently opine on financial statements based on evidential matter.

"There are some larger firms that have internal reviews. However, this will not exclude them from the Institute's review process. It is important, in order to create a level playing field for all licensees engaged in audit in the Bahamas, to be a part of the process."

BICA's membership includes up to 250 licensees and, on a global front, assists the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) as watchdog for the Bahamas' accounting sector, developing reports and making sure this country meets all standards on those institutions' checklists.