By Ochiaka Ugwu
Accountants are fundamental instruments in the fight against corrupt practices even as the country still suffers misappropriation of public funds, a forensic expert, Mr. Benjamin Osisioma has said.
Speaking at the Society for Forensic Accounting and Fraud Prevention (SFAFP) graduation of second batch of 18 interns and induction of third batch of 32 associates in Abuja, Osisioma who is the Chairman Board of Trustees, charged the new members to utilize the opportunities and focus on bringing good ethics and morals to the nation.
He said: “Fraud can never take place without the support of the accountant. A principal in a school who wants to embezzle funds must get the bursar on his side. Someone in the government must reach out to the Accountant General. These are people who have their hands on the paws of the finances of the organization.
“Nigeria is as good as the Nigerian people themselves. If we are corrupt, our firms would be corrupt, but we must face the challenge of making a difference. Fraud always leaves a trail and I pray that the day would dawn for corrupt people to be on the run”.
Executive Secretary of SFAFP, Abuchi Ogbuju, commended the new members for succeeding in creating a milestone for themselves and harped on financial crime prevention instead of fighting it.
“It’s best to prevent, giving scales on how to checkmate and stop corruption from happening than allowing it to fester till you start struggling on catching up. You don’t catch up with corruption, but you try to plan and mitigate it. Get the catalyst that would be a factor that works towards preventing crime from happening, which is getting to the grassroots,” said Ogbuju.
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