The Tribune

By NATARIO MCKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

The Bahamas was yesterday urged to “keep pace” with global financial reporting standards, a senior accountant arguing: “We have not been accustomed to reporting on our financial affairs”.

Gowon Bowe, the Clearing Banks Association’s (CBA) chairman, told Tribune Business: “In The Bahamas the real issue we face is that we have not been accustomed to reporting on our financial affairs because we have not had an income or a corporate tax which would have necessitated financial reporting.

“When you start introducing financial reporting, for us that is every foreign language under the sun. We don’t necessarily keep books and records. With the introduction of VAT and the audit requirements around it, and with the advent of the 21st century tax information exchange agreement, as a country we have to keep pace in the sense of what is financial reporting.

“It doesn’t mean sharing information internationally, but it means we have to have a mechanism to track the activities taking place in our economy and country. In the past we didn’t have a mechanism to say are these non-profits or deemed non-profits.”

Mr Bowe was commenting on the Non-Profit Organisations Amendment Bill, passed in the House of Assembly on Wednesday. The Bill, which makes provision for churches to keep proper financial records, also makes it mandatory for non-profit organisations to report and disclose the receipt of individual donations and disbursements worth $50,000 or more.

“The non-profit legislation, and requirements for reporting and disclosure, in reality were matters that were raised and brought to parliament for passing earlier on,” Mr Bowe said.

“At the time there were concerns raised by various non-profits that looked at it and said we are relatively small, and the reporting requirements become onerous, and there were a number of resisting comments. Ultimately now, when you look at non-profit organisations globally, this is not a new phenomenon.

He added: “A lot of non-profits were used as a bastion for sort of putting money through for the purpose of funding, whether it be political campaigns, influence and doing things in the background.

“What you find is that most countries have a reporting requirement for several reasons. One reason is to ensure that they exist for the purposes they say because you usually have some tax benefits and other elements that impact their designation, and the monies are being used for the purpose they are designated for. It is an anti-corruption element as well.”