The Professional exam of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) for November 2019 diet is here again, hope you are reading really hard as we all know, this is the first exam under the new syllabus and it is going to be different from the previous ones.

The exam officially begins on Tuesday 12th November, 2019 and ends on Thursday 14th November, 2019.

Only candidates who have registered for the exam as a student, paid exam and exemption fees are eligible to write the exam. So if you haven't done any of the instructions written above, you will not be able to write the exam.

Trendingaccounting is here with the comprehensive timetable of the exam to make your study more focused and enjoyable.

Below is the breakdown of the timetable:
The ICAN foundation level students start their ICAN journey with Financial Accounting (FA) as the first paper in the morning, followed by Management information systems (MIS) in the afternoon. They resume the next day with Business law (BL) in the morning, then Business Management and Finance (BMF) in the afternoon. They will round up the exam with Taxation on the last day.

The skills level will also start the exam on Tuesday 12th November, 2019 with Financial Reporting (FR) in the morning, followed by Corporate Strategic Management and Ethics (CSME) in the afternoon. They will continue the next day with Performance Management (PA) in the morning and Audit and Assurance (AA) in the afternoon. They will end the exam on Thursday 14th November with Public Sector Accounting and Finance.

For the final stage (Professional level), they start their exam the same date as other levels with Corporate Reporting (CR) in the morning, then Advanced Taxation (AT) in the afternoon. They will resume the next day with Strategic Financial Management (SFM) in the morning and Advanced Audit and Assurance (AAA) in the afternoon. They will end the exam with the almighty Case study (CA) on Thursday 14th November, 2019.

See comprehensive timetable here https://www.trendingaccounting.com/2019/08/ican-professional-exam-timetable.html

former school teacher Byju Raveendran has become the latest billionaire in India after his education app “byju” has grown to be valued at almost $6 billion.

Byju became the newest member of the billionaire club in India after his company Think & Learn Pvt managed to raise $150 million in funding earlier July. This takes the total value of his company to $5.7 billion. The former school teacher owns 21 percent of the shares, which makes him a billionaire.

In the year 2020, Byju Raveendran will take his app, named after himself, to America, after finalizing a partnership deal with Walt Disney Co.

In the new app, popular Disney characters such as Elsa from Frozen, and Lion King characters, will teach mathematics and English to students of Grade one to three.

Disney stars will also star in animated quizzes, songs, games and stories.

India is going through a dramatic period of wealth creation and destruction. A new breed of self-made entrepreneurs is joining the ranks of the well-heeled, helping the country’s ultra-rich population grow at the world’s fastest pace. Raveendran, at least on paper, assumes his place among those parvenus thanks to his effort in internet education.

Raveendran was born in a village to school-teacher parents. He went on to become an engineer, and then a massively popular teacher, who’s talks would be attended by thousands in stadiums across India. He set up Think & Learn in 2011, and launched his app in 2015.

SOURCE: https://www.trendingaccounting.com/2019/08/37-year-old-former-school-teacher-byju.html

The Institute of Chartered Accountants Of Nigeria (ICAN) will from the year 2020, conduct 3 exam in a year namely: March, July and November diets which also includes Accounting Technician Scheme (ATS).

The Institute revealed this in the sensitization program of ICAN 2019 syllabus review which was held at Lagos airport hotel on the 27th of July, 2019.

With this new arrangement, a non-accounting graduate can become chartered a accountant in one year if he or she passes all the exam papers, instead of one and half years. Before the arrangement, ICAN exams are conducted twice a year which are May and November diets.

Also in news, ICAN exam scripts will be scanned and stored in cloud while the marking will be done on-screen marking. The new study pack will be available on ICAN's website from next week. It will also be available exclusively on Trendingaccounting.com from next week too, the pack will also contain some questions and answers, as well as mock questions.

The compulsory question at skills and professional stage will carry 40 marks and ICAN will consistently set the questions from main core topic of each subjects for this compulsory question.

Case study will be sent to students 2 weeks before the exam including questions, students can be doing permutations and combinations on what the examiner will ask on that case study. The answer to the case should include executive summary.

SOURCE: https://www.trendingaccounting.com/2019/07/ican-set-to-conduct-3-exam-diets-every.html

Good morning fellow nairalanders, I am a blogger, the problem I am having is where to place AdSense code to increase earnings and the type of ads to place that will also increase earnings. I will also be grateful if you can also tell me how to place ads in the middle of a blog post. It is really fraustrating. Please help a brother.

The wait is finally over. We now have a copy of The Institute Of Chartered Accountants Of Nigeria (ICAN) Pathfinder for the just concluded may 2019 exams. ICAN pathfinder is like past questions or study guide that will aid you in preparing for the next exam diet. So we have the pathfinder for all the three stages of the exam.

Although there is a new syllabus from the Institute, this pathfinder will be of help to you, just download the new syllabus, pick out the additional topics and get materials for it but endeavor to register for lectures, it is very important. You can download the Pathfinder through the link below https://www.trendingaccounting.com/2019/07/download-ican-pathfinder-may-2019-for.html

mikkycoins:

How?
Must people tribalise everything in Nigeria
The schools up there are used to test run the new programme.
I blame the OP for twisting the heading to show just 2 private unis

Discrimination among private and public schools, everything is about tribe to you

Mainly news from Igberetv are pushed to front page.

ICAN is gradually championing a discrimination agenda in our Universities.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) has taken another step towards awarding more subject-exemptions to graduates of deserving accredited institutions.

The Institute has planned to achieve this through a new programme known as MCATI. MCATI is an acronym for Mutual Cooperation Agreement with Tertiary Institutions.

By this, out of the fifteen (15) subjects that are written in the graduate stages of its professional examinations based on the new (2019) syllabus, graduates from Institutions where this agreement exist will now sit for only five (5) subjects (i.e only final level of the Institute’s examinations).

The basis of these additional exemption for the graduates of the deserving institutions is, according to ICAN, the subjects would have been thoroughly taught by the accredited institutions who sign in. Thus, ICAN sees it worthwhile to grant more exemptions to graduates of such institutions provided they abide by the agreement.

The subjects as per the new (2019) syllabus are as follows:

Foundation Level
1. Taxation
2. Business, Management and Finance
3. Financial Accounting
4. Management Information Systems
5. Business Law

Skills Level
1. Financial Reporting
2. Audit and Assurance
3. Corporate Strategic Management & Ethics
4. Performance Management
5. Public Sector Accounting and Finance

Professional Level (Final Stage)
1. Corporate Reporting
2. Advanced Audit and Assurance
3. Strategic Financial Management
4. Advanced Taxation
5. Case Study

By the MCATI, accounting graduates from deserving institutions will sit for only the five (5) papers in the final level of the institute’s examinations.

As of May, 2019, the following institutions have been enrolled in the MCATI with ICAN based on the information gathered on the Institute's website accessed by us.

1. Babcock University, Ilishan, Ogun State
2. Caleb University, Imota , Lagos
3. Convenant University, Ota, Ogun State
4. Elizade University, Ilara-Mokin
5. Federal University, Wukari
6. Joseph Ayo Babalola University, Ikeji-Arakeji,Osun State
7. Northwest University, Kano
8. Osun State University, Okuku
9. PAN Atlantic University, Lagos
10. University of Benin, Benin –City, Edo State
11. Abia State Polytechnic, Aba
12. Police Academy, Kano

SOURCE: https://www.trendingaccounting.com/2019/07/ican-moves-to-grant-more-exemptions-to.html

Accountants have adviced government not to allow one person to initiate and approve transactions in agencies and departments in order to reduce the level of corrupt practices in the country.

President Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN), Muhammed Mainoma said that the mechanism can easily be developed where no one individual will be able to approve payment.

He further stated that exposing the procedure of payment approval of money to more than two to three people or where different people are involved will reduce corruption in Nigeria.

Mainoma who disclosed this in Abuja at a dinner organised in honour of the President and members of council’s move to the nations capital.

He also said that the profession should be saddled with a lot of ethical consideration where incoming professionals are trained on ethics in the university and during their professional trainings.

His words, “As it is today, accountants are seen as part of the problem of the society and it behoves on us that are already in the profession to make it in a way that people will see in terms of the society and what we can contribute at the national level that it should be that we are training people that can stand on their own and manage resources through mechanisms that can make the profession attractive to incoming professionals, the society and governance generally.

“Ones you have a profession that is saddled with a lot of ethical consideration, ones the training is such that the issue of integrity is stressed, ones the modules are such that makes it so their is a level of control that makes it impossible for people to easily steal money and it is easy to develop the mechanism where no one individual will be able to approve payment

SOURCE: https://www.trendingaccounting.com/2019/07/anan-advises-government-on-ways-to.html

Kano/Jigawa district of the Institute of Chartered Account of Nigeria (ICAN), on Thursday launched their ‘Catch them young’ campaign in 20 public secondary schools across Kano State.

The campaign which was officially unveiled at the famous Runfa College, was part of ICAN’s measures to build the choice of professional accounting career in the minds of younger generation right from secondary schools.

The catch them young initiative is also designed with special accounting examination courses for leavers of secondary schools that will prepare them for professional ICAN exams.

Speaking at the event, Chairman of ICAN Kano/Jigawa district, Kadir Mohammad stated that the initiative was introduced to encourage enrollment of O’level graduate in Accounting Technician Scheme West African (ATSWA).

According to Mohammad, ATSWA program which was initiated to produce middle level accounting technician within West Africa, provide opportunity for applicants with five credit in O’ level, including English and Mathematics, to enrol.

Against the conventional system, Mohammad disclosed that candidates who passed the ATSWA examination, are equivalent to university or polytechnic graduates of accounting.

He added that people in that category are only required to pass through the professional qualification, the last stage before qualify as Chartered accountant.

“this sensitization is designed to encourage students of secondary schools to study hard and become professional in the field of accounting. We want to clear the doubt that seems, studying and becoming a Chartered accountant is difficult.

“Again, we have come with good news that the students can actually start the journey of becoming chartered accountants immediately after they completed their secondary school without passing through universities or polytechnics.

“ICAN has introduced Accounting Technician Scheme West Africa (ATSWA). This program only required candidates to pass their five O’level credits including English and Mathematics. As soon as you pass the exams, you are now equivalent to graduates and you can actually practice as accounting technician.

At that stage, you have passed basic and skill stages. You only need professional exams to go and you are chartered accountant”.

Manager, ICAN Liaison Office in Kano, Umaru Abdullahi Amo revealed that the program will equally serve to bridge wide gap between ICAN membership with southern part of the country.

Umaru explained that the district is also given out scholarship to best graduating students in any field to enrol for ICAN examinations. He added that the Kano/Jigawa district has produced over 400 Chartered accountant in the last four years through a scholarship initiative ICAN established with New Nigeria Development Company.

Umar stressed that in the last five years, ICAN candidates have been enjoying tuition free lectures at the study center, as part of measures to encourage and produce future Chartered accountants in the district.

SOURCE: https://www.trendingaccounting.com/2019/07/ican-launches-catch-them-young-campaign.html

About 30 percent of companies operating in Nigeria evade tax while 25 percent of registered companies in the country are not paying tax, an international non-governmental organisation, Oxfam in Nigeria, has said.

The organisation said the country loses about $2.9billion or N580billion yearly to tax waivers granted to multinational companies.

Oxfam in Nigeria Country Director, Constant Tchona, stated these during the official unveiling of two reports: Fair Tax Monitor Index and the Commitment to Reducing Inequality Index, to the public on Wednesday in Abuja, the nation’s capital.

He noted that the fiscal incentives granted with the hope of stimulating investments into the country’s economy are eroded with poor governance and lack of transparency.

Tchona said: “The fiscal incentives granted with the hope of stimulating investments into the country’s economy are eroded with poor governance and lack of transparency, especially when the Central Bank of Nigeria has confirmed that there is no cost-benefit analysis to justify the exemptions and when there is no check on the discretionary powers residing with the Executive in granting exemptions.

“The procedures for granting tax incentives should undergo a thorough review, focused on transparency and governance. This should include mandatory parliamentary oversight, publication of annual tax expenditure reports, clear requirements for incentives and periodic review of expected results.

The country director also said that taxpayers in the country often opt to negotiate with corrupt tax administration staff in return for gratifications and reduced sums to the coffers of the government.

Tchona explained that this action is against the sanctions imposed by Company Income Tax Act for such conduct.

He called on the Federal Government to fast-forward action on the new National Tax Policy approved and clamp down on corporate crimes.

He said: “Official FIRS numbers suggest that the entire tax system is fraught with crippling challenges of weak enforcement, corruption and outright evasion. The records show that about 30% of companies in Nigeria are involved in tax evasion and also 25% of registered companies in the country are not paying tax.

“Taxpayers often opt to negotiate with corrupt tax administration staff in return for gratifications and reduced sums to the coffers of the government. This is despite the sanctions imposed by the same Company Income Tax Act for such conduct.”

The Oxfam chief called on the National Assembly to enact law that would criminalise actions of banks, auditors, accountants and lawyers that facilitate illicit financial flows from the country.

He urged the legislative arm to not only introduce cutting-edge technology that would curb the act but specifically asked them to enact law that would punish enablers of tax evasion to face fines of up to 100 percent of tax evaded.

“The National assembly should enact a law that will criminalize totally the actions of middlemen – banks, auditors, accountants, and lawyers that facilitate Illicit Financial Flows. When such professionals act contrary to existing regulations, they should be held accountable in Nigeria. This can be enforced through strengthened professional association bodies.

“There is need for the Nigerian government to fast-forward action on the new National Tax Policy approved and clamp down on corporate crimes. New legislation and rules to cope with current realities should be enacted along with introduction of cutting-edge technology.

“The National Assembly should enact a law to punish the “enablers” of tax evasion such as lawyers, accountants and bankers, and should be made to face fines of up to 100 per cent of tax evaded.

“The tax system should be reviewed and amended to be more equitable to women as drivers of SMEs; most especially Personal Income Tax Act on unorganized sector needs to be amended to ensure they achieve gender equity, legitimate, and consistent with the government’s commitment to gender equity,” he said.

See more videos and photos here: https://www.trendingaccounting.com/2019/07/fire-guts-bayero-university-kano.html

Fire has gutted the Accounting office of the Bayero University Kano (BUK), the Principal Assistant Registrar of the University, Mr Lamara Garba, said on Tuesday.

Trendingaccounting learnt that the incident occurred about noon and affected vital documents in the office.

He said the fire had been put off by the university’s fire service and no live was lost.

Garba said the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Administration), Prof. Haruna Wakili, had visited the scene and commended the university’s fire service for its quick intervention.

SOURCE: https://www.trendingaccounting.com/2019/07/fire-guts-bayero-university-kano.html

The Chairman of Amuwo Odofin District of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Mrs. Oluwakemi Oderinde, has vowed to tackle unemployment via entrepreneurship development and innovative ideas to enhance the economy.

The new chair revealed this during her investiture in Lagos at the weekend, that her administration would take advantage of the investment in agriculture to encourage youths to be employers of labour.

She also promised to use ICAN platforms to support the diversification of the country’s economy through agriculture.

“We have an entrepreneurial committee that is ready to support people with entrepreneurial ideas financially and recommend to banks, especially IBTC, to support their ideas. Right now, we are ready to support them.

“If you are not an employee, you should be an employer. What we tell our members is, don’t look at who will employ you; look at how you can be an entrepreneur.

“Entrepreneurship covers many areas of the economy. We encourage our members to go into farming and transportation. Accounting is very versatile and there is no area of life that accountants cannot venture into,” she said.

The immediate past chairman, Tunde Kuti, encouraged young accountants to embrace financial independence rather than focusing on salaries from a paid job.

He added that ICAN established the Entrepreneurship Faculty at headquarters in Victoria Island, Lagos, with committee ready to build business ideas with financial support (interest-free loan) from IBTC.

“At the end of the day, our vision is for our members to be self-employed accountants. We have platforms to encourage young ones to go into entrepreneurship,” he said.

Reacting to the problems faced by Nigerian farmers, the first deputy vice president of ICAN, Mrs. Comfort Eyitayo, stated that bad roads had claimed about 70 percent of farm produce in Nigeria.

She admonished President Muhammadu Buhari to invest more in infrastructure to enhance the transportation of farm produce from the farms to the markets.

SOURCE: https://www.trendingaccounting.com/2019/07/ican-targets-entrepreneurship-to-curb.html

Citizens of Nigeria abandoned 10 million bank accounts in the first half of 2019 (H1’19) which increased the number of inactive bank accounts by 26 percent, year-on-year, during the period.

Nigerian Inter Bank Settlement System, NIBSS, made this known in the June 2019 edition of its ‘Industry Customer Bank Account Data’, which also revealed that Nigerians opened 10.97 million bank accounts within the same period. The NIBSS data showed that the number of inactive bank accounts rose to 49.4 million in H1’19 from 39 million in H1’18. On quarterly basis, the number of inactive bank accounts rose by five percent in the second quarter of the year, Q2’19, from 46.89 million in Q1’19.

Furthermore, the number of active bank accounts increased by 0.82 percent to 72.97 million in H1’19 from 72.3 million in H1’18. However, quarter-on-quarter (QoQ), the number of active bank accounts dropped by 1.1 million or 1.4 percent to 72.97 million in Q2’19 from 74.03 million in Q1’19. Further analysis revealed that the number of current accounts grew by 20 percent to 29.28 million in H1’19 from 24.4 million in H1’18 while the number of savings accounts rose by seven percent to 89.8 million from 83.9 million in H1’18.

On quarterly basis, the number of current accounts rose by 3.0 percent to 29.28 million in Q2’19 from 28.56 million in Q1’19 while the number of savings accounts rose slightly by 0.81 percent to 89.8 million in Q2’19 from 89.05 million in Q1’19.

SOURCE: https://www.trendingaccounting.com/2019/07/nigerians-abandon-10-million-bank.html

Popular accounting body in Nigeria, The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, ICAN, has accredited the department of Accounting in Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta (MAPOLY).

ICAN certificate which was dated 10th May, 2019 was presented to the Rector of the Polytechnic, Dr. Samson Adeola Odedina, having met all the requirements for the accreditation of Accounting / Accountancy programmes in the tertiary Institution.

According to the Director, School of Business and Management Studies, Dr. Oluwakemi Oyefesobi who led the Head of Department and other lecturers in the department to present the certificate to the rector, the accreditation, which is for three academic sessions, was based on adequate teaching facilities and qualified lecturers mostly fellows of the ICAN.

The accreditation now makes it possible for graduates of Accounting from Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta (MAPOLY) to sit for two instead of three stages of the ICAN professional examinations.

In other news, three students of Accountancy Department of the Polytechnic; Osifola Stella Tolulope, Imoleayo Michael Joseph and Udeh Emmanuella Ijeh were qualified as Chartered Accountants in the final year of their studentship in the last diet.

The Director, SBMS, confirmed that this had been the culture of the department to produce Chartered Accountants at every diet of ICAN professional examination.

SOURCE: https://www.trendingaccounting.com/2019/07/ican-accredits-accounting-department-in.html

The Federal Government has collected over N10 trillion from the implementation of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) from 1,674 Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

An official in the Office of the Account-General of the Federation (OAGF), Afolabi Ajayi, made this known on Thursday at the Peer Review Mechanism of Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) 2019 in Abuja to the Head of Civil Service of the Federation HoCSF).

Making the presentation, Ajayi stated that under TSA, the government has been able to save over N45 billion monthly in interest on ways and means that it used to pay before the full implementation of the TSA.

He also disclosed that N50 billion revenue have so far been mopped up from commercial banks as a result of the TSA implementation. Ajayi also told the HOCSF that from April 2007 when the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) kicked-off to February 2018, “over N288 billion has been saved as a result of the difference between the amount government would have released to MDAs based on appropriation and actual amount released and paid through IPPIS since payment are made directly to beneficiaries account.”

“When IPPIS was introduced to date, 506 MDAs with total staff strength of 344,625 are on the IPPIS platform with the gross pay of N49, 071,961,959.15k as at September,2018.

“Since IPPIS commenced, many departments and agencies having realized that personnel cost was no longer coming to them for direct disbursement, have embarked on recruitment to utilise their approved manpower/personnel budget so much so that between September 2011 and now, many Nigerians have been employed in the IPPIS MDAs thereby reducing unemployment in the country.”

The French Parliament on Thursday adopted, by a final vote of the Senate, the introduction of a tax on `GAFA’, making France one of the first countries to impose a tax on digital giants.

The GAFA tax refers to an acronym for Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon.

The digital tax is endorsed by the opposition-controlled upper house, paving the way to the eurozone second largest power to unilaterally tax internet giants by three per cent on much of their digital sales in France.

This is related to advertising, websites and the resale of private data.

The tax was initially adopted by the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament, on July 4.

GAFA targets digital companies with global annual sales of more than 750 million euros ($845.6 million) and sales in France of at least 25 million euros.

Introduced in France from Jan. 1, this three per cent tax on digital gross sales would help to collect 400 million euros this year and 650 million euros by 2022.

SOURCE: https://www.trendingaccounting.com/2019/07/france-imposes-digital-tax-on-google.html

The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), a top professional accounting body has said that professional accountants in Nigeria must work with the government in reducing the risk associated with infrastructure projects.

According to the accounting the body, these accountants will play an important role in bridging the infrastructure gap by improving the selection, financing and delivery of infrastructure projects.

ACCA disclosed this in its recent joint report with Chartered Professional Accountants, Canada, titled: “Bridging the African infrastructure gap”. The report stated: “In order for infrastructure projects to be successful, governments need the right team in place, which includes the professional accountant. “Governments need the right professional team in place to harness the benefits of additional investment while working to mitigate the significant risks associated with infrastructure projects.

“Accountants must play a critical role in closing the infrastructure gap by improving the selection, financing and delivery of infrastructure projects. The report noted, “the nation is expected to invest $618 billion in its infrastructure between now and 2040, however it has a projected investment gap of $210.3 billion its public sector needs to plug”.

Commenting on the report, ACCA’s Head, Nigeria, Thomas Isibor, said: “Across Nigeria there are a number of barriers that come into play when meeting our infrastructure needs. “African respondents from a survey of nearly 500 infrastructure specialists highlighted poor core public service infrastructure, railways, and water and sanitation as areas where the service provision falls below the global benchmark.”

SOURCE: https://www.trendingaccounting.com/2019/07/accountants-must-work-with-government.html

See more reactions from Twitter users here https://www.trendingaccounting.com/2019/07/meet-jude-nigerian-security-guard.html

The achievement of a particular hardworking man has been made popular by a Nigerian Twitter user. According to the tweep whose username is @walexychap, the young man in question is a security guard who strove and worked hard to pass several accounting exams.

This security guard named Jude has now been inducted as a chartered accountant. As a reward for his tenacious success, the tweep urged Nigerians to assist in getting him a good job.

A photo of Jude in his security uniform was shared in the post. In the picture, he was beaming from ear to ear with a young woman by his side.

See reactions below

SOURCE: https://www.trendingaccounting.com/2019/07/meet-jude-nigerian-security-guard.html

You can download the new ICAN syllabus here
https://www.trendingaccounting.com/2018/12/ican-2019-examination-syllabus-in-pdf.html?m=1

The professional examination of The Institute Of Chartered Accountants Of Nigeria (ICAN) comprises fifteen subjects with ethics embedded in each subject.

The new syllabus, which takes effect from November 2019 examination, has been designed to ensure that on completion, the newly qualified ICAN - ACA would have developed the necessary technical knowledge and skills with the ability to discuss, analyse and evaluate a variety of complex business cases in often unpredictable business environment exercising professional judgement to present and communicate better solutions.

ICAN usually review their syllabus every four years in order to keep up with the current trend in the accounting profession across the world. The institute used the 2014 syllabus in the May diet of 2019 exams which will be the end of the 2014 syllabus, and has decided to adopt the new syllabus. The new syllabus has a total of 15 subjects unlike the 2014 which has 16 subjects.

The new ICAN syllabus will be first used in the November diet of the 2019 professional examinations. So I am going to compare the different papers in 2014 and that of 2019.

From my observations, i noticed that taxation (B3) has been moved from skill level down to foundation level, while Quantitative Techniques in Business (A1) has been added to Business and Finance (A2) to make it Business, Management & Finance (A2). The number of paper in foundation level remains the same for both 2014 and 2019 even though one paper was added to it because a paper was merged with another. Management, Governance & Ethics (B6) has been changed to Corporate Strategic Management & Ethics (B3). Skill level now has five papers in the new syllabus unlike six in the old syllabus (2014). The professional level papers remain unchanged as all five papers in the 2014 syllabus (Corporate Reporting C1, Advanced Audit and Assurance C2, Strategic Financial Management C3, Advanced Taxation C4, Case Study C5) appeared in the 2019 syllabus.

NOTE:
Any Skills level candidate taking Taxation (now at the Foundation level) will be allowed to combine this subject with other subjects at the Skills level.

SOURCE: https://www.trendingaccounting.com/2019/07/comparing-new-ican-syllabus-2019-with.html

The president of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari has directed all business data generating agencies in the country to provide the Joint Tax Board (JTB) with all vital information necessary for its activities.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, disclosed this yesterday in Abuja after launching the JTB for Tax Identification Number (TIN) Registration System. He listed the agencies concerned as Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), Nigeria Identity Management Commission (NIMC) and Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

“All the agencies involved with generation of business data have been directed by the president to immediately collaborate with the JTB with the provision of necessary information to enable it capture accurate tax database of Nigeria.

“This has become necessary because the new TIN registration system is in line with the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) of this administration.

“There is a tendency that foreign investors would not have implicit confidence in your own economy, if the level of domestic investment is not encouraging. That is why the new TIN registration system has been introduced to help tax-payers and other stakeholders easily verify their TIN online. The service also enables tax-payers to print their TIN certificate or send it to their emails,” Prof. Osinbajo stated.

Earlier, the JTB chairman, Mr Babatunde Fowler who is also chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), had declared that with the launch of the new TIN registration system, the service would, before the end of the third quarter, raise the tax base to 45 million.

“We believe that with the new TIN registration system, we will be reinforcing the laudable efforts of this administration towards building a robust tax revenue administration system, promoting a tax-friendly environment and ensuring a sustainable and inclusive economy for all Nigerians.

“During the first tenure of this government, we expanded the tax base from 10 million to 20 million with the potential for an increase to 45 million before the end of the third quarter of 2019,” Fowler said.

According to him, for the first time in history, the federal government paid all outstanding Pay As You Earn (PAYE) tax liabilities owed by federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) from 2002 to 2016, totalling N135.8 billion to the various state governments.

“We hope that this gesture will encourage state governments to also promptly remit all withholding taxes and Value Added Tax (VAT) due to the federation account.”

The South East Zone of Tax Appeal Tribunal, on Friday 21st June, 2019 ruled that gratuities are tax exempted under the Personal Income Tax Act (PITA).

In 2017, Nigerian Breweries PLC filed an appeal before the tribunal challenging the decision of the Abia State Board Internal Revenue to tax gratuities paid to its employees, contending that the Abia government erred when it assessed its employees to tax on gratuities paid by them.

Through its counsel, Moshood Olajide, Nigerian Breweries PLC argued that gratuities were no longer taxable, and therefore, remained the extant position in the PITA 2011 (as amended) and urged the tribunal to discharge the assessment notice issued by the respondent and declare that by virtue of Decree 1996, all gratuities in tax are exempted.

But, Abia state government through its counsel, Obike Onyemeru urged the tribunal to dismiss the appeal and sustain the demand notice. Delivering judgment in the appeal, the three-man panel of tribunal agreed with the submissions of the appellant and resolved the three grounds in his favour.

Chairman of the tribunal, Chukwuemeka Eze who read the judgment cited the decision of the supreme court which held that “it has been settled principle of statutory interpretation that although schedules of a statute can be useful handmaid in construing the provisions of a statute, they cannot however be interpreted to over-rule the plain words in the body of the statute,” and held that Paragraph 18(b) of the 3rd Schedule to the PITA does not apply to the appellant.

SOURCE: https://www.trendingaccounting.com/2019/06/gratuities-are-exempted-from-tax-says.html

An accounting body, The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, ACCA, on Thursday said it would collaborate with the Federal Government of Nigeria so as to tackle some gaps in the public sector accounting.

The body also called on professional accountants to take chart in the current reforms being done by the government in the management of public finances.

The Head of ACCA in Nigeria, Mr Tom Isibor disclosed these in Abuja while speaking at a forum with finance and human resource directors I Abuja.

The event which was themed “Driving collaboration to develop finance capacities in the public sector.”

He further said there was a need for professional accountants to champion financial management reforms in the public sector as it would enable the government to institutionalise fiscal discipline, transparency, probity and accountability in the management of public finances.

“Our strategy in ACCA is to develop partnership and we work with our key partners, He said.

“What we want to achieve from this meeting is to understand what are the gaps in the public sector and how we can work together to address those gaps.

“Many of the participants at this event have acknowledged that we have a capacity gap and we need to close this. It might be tough but we believe it’s not insurmountable. It is from knowing where the gaps are that we can be able to resolve them.”

Also speaking during an interview on the sidelines of the event, the Director-General, Bureau of Public Service Reforms, Ibrahim Arabi said that the move by the ACCA to tackle accounting gaps in the public sector would further strengthen the public financial management reforms.

He said, “The BPSR has developed a document called the National Strategy for Public Service Reforms and one the aspirations of the document is getting the Nigeria public sector to be among the first 20 economies in the world by 2025.

“It is impossible for government alone to drive this programme based on the mordern trend in governance. Nigeria trapped in low growth path, says Moody’s

“So the coming in of organisation like ACCA to collaborate with government in improving the quality of service delivery will lead to the full actualisation of the aspirations of our national strategy on public sector reforms.”

He said the BPSR would work with ACCA to further strengthen the reforms in the public sector particularly in the area of ethics and professionalism.

Mr Anthony Ayine, the Auditor-General for the Federation, said that his office would collaborate with ACCA to strengthen public sector audit.

This, he said, was very important to enable accountants to regain trust due to the poor perception from the public about the tendency of members of the profession to commit fraud.

SOURCE: https://www.trendingaccounting.com/2019/06/acca-pledges-to-assist-fg-in-tackling.html

Telecommunication giant, Airtel Nigeria has officially filed an application with the Securities and Exchange Commission for the listing of its shares on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

It was revealed by sources at the commission that the telecom company’s application was filed two weeks ago. The Security and Exchange Commission, SEC, was presently examining the application in line with its rules and regulations, the News Agency of Nigeria reported.

SEC would continue in its quest to protect the interest of investors in the market in line with its mandate to regulate and develop the capital market, the source said. The application would be given fast consideration if the company met all the requirements for listing on the nation’s bourse .

The parent company of the telco, Bharti Airtel, in its filing in London on Monday, said that it intended to list the shares on the NSE at the same time with the listing of its Africa unit at the London Stock Exchange.

However, it said its plans were subject to regulatory approval of the SEC and the NSE.

Its African unit had been set at a share price of 80 to100 pence a share for its initial public offer on the LSE to raise about $750m.

According to the India-based network operator, the offer is expected to comprise approximately 595.2 million to 744.0 million new shares to be issued by the company

SOURCE: https://www.trendingaccounting.com/2019/06/airtel-nigeria-files-application-for.html

Thanks for sharing such helpful content.I have added new kit in my knowledge dictionary. I really want to know more about ICAN Registration, is there any Blog? <a href=”https://www.trendingaccounting.com/2018/08/how-to-register-for-ican-professional.html” >ICAN Registration</a>

The job of Parenting can be a very challenging one. To me, it is a fulltime job trying to teach your children to be honest, responsible, hard work and also encouraging them to be kind and respectful to their peers and adults. Sometimes you have to pick and choose what matters most for your children, differentiate between what they want and what they need and stick to it even if they will be unhappy at the moment.

Raising kids that are financially responsible is very important. Teaching your children to be financially responsible does not require any certain age because making money is not specific to any age.

A day is coming when your child will face the big world all alone. It’s your responsibility as a parent to teach them good financial lessons. Teach your kids how they should manage their money and why money management is very important in life.

1. TEACH THEM TO SAVE
You can get them a piggy bank (kolo) where they can be saving all the monies they get from people, visitors and even you. Any little money they get, either in gift or errand tip-off, let them the habit of putting it in their saving bank grow in them.

2. MAKE SURE THEY SPEND CAUTIOUSLY
Because they are children, it is very easy for them to get carried away by enticing things which appeal to them. Sometimes, they can easily use their money to buy toys, junks and other things that caught their fancy. What you can do as a parent in the case is to make sure that you guide them to buy things that could be of help to them.

3. OPEN A BANK ACCOUNT FOR THEM
There are some initiatives from banks like Smart Kids Save, etc. It is now possible to open a bank account for your child irrespective of the age of that child. Then from that account, you can even save money that would be enough to take care of their future especially on education.

4. PLAY GAMES THAT ARE EDUCATIVE
This might sound very weird but it actually works. A game like Monopoly is fun to play but it will basically teach your kids about money and financial responsibility. It will also teach them the importance of having money, what happens when you go into debt as a result of spending lavishly. When they lose money several times in the game, it will teach them how to manage their resources in real life no matter how small or big it is.

5. LEAD BY EXAMPLE
Be a parent who leads by example. Children learn fastly from their parents and they pick up either good or bad habits from them. If you are a parent who is financially responsible, your kids might pick it up from you. Same as if you are not financially responsible.

6. GIVE THEM FINANCIAL LESSONS
Teens can be influenced easily. It is very tempting as teenagers to buy new items such as new phone, clothes, shoes, some would even want to start using credit cards. Some of the commercials on TV and other media often grab their attention towards a world full of fancy. It is very important to make your kids see reasons why they should spend on things they need rather than things they want.

7. DISCUSS FINANCIAL GOALS WITH THEM
It is the happiness of every parent to see their children succeed in every aspect. You can discuss about short-term and long-term financial goals with your children.

Discuss with them on how much allowance they should spend every week and how much they must put towards short and long term savings. It is also very important to tell them to save money for charity.

SOURCE: https://www.trendingaccounting.com/2019/06/7-important-keys-to-raising-financially.html

The Accounting Technicians Scheme, West Africa (ATSWA) examinations will be held in member countries on 17 & 18 September 2019 under the Council of The Association of Accountancy Bodies in West Africa (ABWA).

The examinations will be held in the following centres in Nigeria: Aba, Abakaliki, Abeokuta, Abuja, Ado-Ekiti, Akure, Amuwo-Lagos, Awka, Benin-City, Calabar, Enugu, Ibadan, Ikeja, Ilesha, Ilisan, Ilorin, Ikorodu, Jalingo, Jos, Kaduna, Kano, Lokoja, Makurdi, Malete, Mowe, Ogbomoso, Okija, Onitsha, Osogbo, Otta, Owerri, Oye-Ekiti, Port-Harcourt, Umuahia, Uyo, Victoria-Island, Warri and Yenagoa.

The Institute reserves the right to transfer any candidate from his or her chosen centre to another centre if the need arises. This is a comprehensive Timetable For the prestigious accounting examination for September 2019 diet:

TUESDAY
17/09/2019
9.30a.m-12.30p.m.
PART 1
Basic Accounting Processes & Systems
PART 2
P & P of Financial Accounting
PART 3
Principles of Auditing

2p.m-5p.m.
PART 1
Business Law
PART 2
Information Technology
PART 3
Management

See full timetable here: https://www.trendingaccounting.com/2019/06/ican-atswa-timetable-for-september-2019.html

The federal government’s second Green Bond offer has recorded about 220 per cent subscription.

Via the result is was announced yesterday by the Debt Management Office (DMO), investors across Nigeria staked N32.93 billion for the N15 billion offer.

The agency said, “Total value of subscriptions received was N32.93 billion, representing 220% of the N15 billion offered. “Similarly, the number of subscribers doubled when compared to the figure for the first Sovereign Green Bond issued in December 2017. Retail investors were not left out, as the number of individuals who subscribed for the second Sovereign Green Bond more than doubled. “The amount of subscriptions grew by almost 201% with the share of total subscriptions rising to 1.43% compared to 0.67% for the 2017 Sovereign Green Bond.”

Although the offer was oversubscribed, the DMO allotted only the N15 billion that was offered for a tenor of seven years, at a coupon rate of 14.5 percent per annum.

According to the DMO, there was a stronger participation of retail investors, an indication of financial inclusion and deepening of the domestic financial market, which were some of the key objectives of the DMO instrument programme. The Offer, which opened to the general public on Monday, June 3, 2019 and closed on Monday, June 10, 2019, was preceded by road show meetings with investors and other stakeholders in Lagos and Abuja.

The DMO said, “The results of the second Sovereign Green Bond issuance revealed increased knowledge and awareness of Green Bonds by subscribers, and a greater level of commitment from the general public towards protecting the environment.”

It added that the proceeds of the Green Bond would be used to finance projects in the 2018 Appropriation Act, which would contribute to Nigeria’s commitments to the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. The projects would include Off-Grid Solar and Wind Farm, Irrigation, Afforestation and Reforestation, as well as, Ecological Restoration.