By Abaasa Joan
Communications Officer - ICPAU
CPA Keto Kayemba, the President of the Pan African Federation of Accountants (PAFA), highlighted the critical importance of trust in the field of accountancy at the Public Finance Management (PFM) Conference held at the Source of the Nile Hotel in Jinja starting 19-22 March, 2024.
During her presentation, CPA Keto defined trust as a firm belief or confidence in the reliability, integrity, and honesty of an entity or person. She stressed that trust plays a pivotal role in building strong relationships, fostering cooperation, collaboration, and mutual understanding and driving business growth and economic development.
Emphasising the need for a value-driven public and private sector, CPA Keto stressed the significance of trust in enabling reliance on financial information, thereby facilitating growth. She highlighted the importance of building trust over time through higher studies, certification, adherence to ethical standards, and leadership competence.
CPA Keto discussed the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) code of ethics, which outlines fundamental principles such as integrity, objectivity, professional competence, confidentiality, and professional behavior, reflecting the profession's recognition of its public interest responsibility.
In terms of institutional and national capacity building, CPA Keto suggested collaborating with governments to identify areas for improvement and enhance the skills of government officials. She stressed the importance of positioning Professional Accountancy Organizations (PAOs) to guide and participate in the implementation of government initiatives.
In her closing remarks, CPA Keto challenged participants to develop strategies for building trust within their organisations. She posed intriguing questions regarding the current state of trust in Uganda, encompassing topics such as the availability of Ministry publications focused on trust, the efficacy of reports from the Office of the Auditor General and the level of publicity on trust-related matters.
CPA Keto encouraged accountants to hold each other accountable and emphasised the role of trust in driving positive change.
