By Grace Alegba
Mr Joshua Oderinde, past Chairman, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN),Ikeja district, has urged professionals to upgrade their ICT skills and adopt digital tools to stay competent, ethical, innovative and globally relevant.
Oderinde gave the advice on Monday at the 2025 International Accounting Day celebration of the district in Lagos.
He spoke on the topic: “The Role of Chartered Accountants In The Past, The Present and Future Market’s Expectations”.
Oderinde, who gave a detailed history of the birth of the International Accounting Day, its evolution, purpose and significance, said the day provides an opportunity to talk about the role of accountants and the accountancy profession.
He explained that evolution of accountants roles in response to economic, technological, regulatory, and societal change and the need to uphold ethical standards as guardians of financial integrity.
Oderinde explained changes and challenges introduced by technology and why modern chartered accountants must combine financial acumen with digital literacy to remain relevant.
He listed skills needed by chartered accountants and the need to continue to retrain, retool, and reposition members through lifelong learning and forward-looking standards.
“While technology and markets evolve, the core value of the Chartered Accountant, trust, remains timeless.
“The chatered accountant of the future is digitally skilled, ethically grounded, strategically minded, and globally relevant.
“The Chartered Accountant has always been the conscience of commerce. In the digital age, that conscience must not only record history but shape the future,” he added.
According to him, Artificial Intelligence (AI), data analytics, block chain technologies will have significant impact on auditing techniques and approaches.
“IFRS sustainability disclosure standards shall feature more in financial reporting and evaluations, forensic accounting and cyber fraud prevention methods are expected to be evolved by the future Chartered Accountant.
“The guiding thought is regular knowledge upscale and interdisciplinary adoption of relevant social media tools in communication without losing the core ethics of the profession,” he noted. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Olawunmi Ashafa
