The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) has awarded 63 officials from the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General (OCAG) of Bangladesh with professional Certificates in Management and Financial Accounting.
This professional certificate equips the OCAG officials with a comprehensive array of professional and transferable skills, applicable across diverse finance and accounting contexts.
Md. Nurul Islam, Comptroller and Auditor General of Bangladesh, joined the event held at the Audit Bhaban in Dhaka on Monday as the chief guest.
During the certificate awarding ceremony Islam said pursuing CIPFA qualifications is part of their audit professionalisation agenda, which is embedded in the agreed work plan of their ongoing reform intervention supported by the European Union.
"The fundamental purpose of this agenda is to create a critical mass of CIPFA qualification holders to meet the emerging challenges mainly arising from the ever-evolving landscape of public financial management in our country. We consider CIPFA as our partner in our plans to develop our human resources as it is an institution globally dedicated to excellence in public financial management," he said.
"In partnering with professional bodies like CIPFA, we want to create a resource pool that can help ensure the realization of our vision: Enhancing accountability and transparency for utilization of public resources that promotes value and benefit to citizens.”
Islam also expressed his gratitude to Enrico Lorenzon, Team Leader, Inclusive Governance, Delegation of the European Union to Bangladesh, for his participation during the event and to the European Union for their consistent support in implementing the reform agenda that aims to bring about improvements in the effectiveness of the Supreme Audit Institution.
Khalid Hamid, International Director at CIPFA, graced the event as one of the guests of honour.
Hamid said CIPFA is delighted to award certificates to this extremely successful cohort of officials from the OCAG in Bangladesh.
"The professionalism and performance amongst programme participants have been extraordinary from day one, and today we had the opportunity to recognise that publicly," he said.
The initiative is a part of the OCAG’s Audit Professionalisation Programme, which was funded by the European Union’s Technical Assistance to Support the Implementation of the PFM Reform Strategic Plan in Bangladesh, implemented by DT Global.
Since March 2023, CIPFA and Technical Assistance have collaborated closely to roll out the learning programme.
This collaboration has played an instrumental role in nurturing talent and contributing to the nation’s financial landscape by developing 63 CIPFA certificate holders, boasting an overall success rate of 82.9%.
This accomplishment comes on the heels of extraordinary results in both the CIPFA Management Accounting Examinations.
Around 90% candidates passed with flying colours in June 2023, while 89% candidates passed the CIPFA Financial Accounting Examination in September 2023.
The modules cover various learning elements, including the preparation of financial statements, ethical behaviour, control techniques, costing and budgeting, variance analysis, and performance evaluation, amongst others.
The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) is a UK-based, international accountancy membership and standard-setting body.
CIPFA is the only such body globally dedicated to public financial management. The institute has a global footprint of nearly 15,000 members in more than 80 countries, across a diverse range of public sector organisations.
CIPFA’s aim is to ensure public money is raised and spent with the highest degree of openness and efficiency for the benefit of public services.