The Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Rwanda (ICPAR) has been declared a full member of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), the global organisation for the accountancy profession.

Established in 2008, ICPAR regulates the accountancy profession in the country; preserves the integrity of accounting, as well as promoting competence and the capacities in the profession.

Being admitted as a member of the IFAC is a big step not only for ICPAR, but for Rwanda as a country with aspirations towards making huge milestones in the world of finance, officials said.

Speaking to The New Times, Amin Miramago, the Chief Executive Officer of ICPAR, said this was a major milestone for the industry.

"We are actually very excited to have been voted as full members of IFAC. It is an achievement that we don’t take lightly. It is a journey that has been a long one. We have had to really transform ourselves and put in place a lot of things,” he said.

According to Miramago, ICPAR’s membership to IFAC is going to open up a lot of opportunities ICPAR’s members, and also for Rwanda, given that the country wants to become an international finance centre.

"It (the membership) means that we have to have an accountancy profession that is up to date with people who have right skills and can be able to spur the growth that is required. So we are very excited and think that it is a very good step in the right direction,” he said.

He also said that IFAC membership is also advantageous as it gives ICPAR voting rights on the IFAC council.

"It means that we can be able to nominate our people directly to these standards-setting bodies,” he said.

"We can also be able to add our voice to the global accountancy fraternity. It also means that our members are also easily recognized across various jurisdictions because our institute is at the standards of the rest of the institutes across the globe.”

Accountancy in Rwanda

Rwanda’s accountancy profession was born around 2008 when the law establishing ICPAR was promulgated. After only about 12 years, the profession has made tremendous milestones.

For instance, in 2009, the initial members who registered with ICPAR were around 98, but now, the institute counts up to 700 members. 

In 2012, ICPAR had about 165 students when it was starting the Certified Public Accounting (CPA) and Certified Accounting Technician (CAT) programs; but currently, the institute boasts about 4,500 students.

He said that an economy like Rwanda needs around 10,000 certified public accountants and certified accounting technicians.