Abstract
The Faculty System was launched in December 2014 in response to the increasing spate of globalization and specialization within the profession. Globalization and its attendant specialization had made it imperative for members to acquire in depth knowledge in specialized areas of accountancy practice and share the knowledge so-acquired with other professional colleagues. Council established six Faculties - Financial Reporting, Audit and Assurance, Corporate Financial Management, Corporate Governance, Taxation and Fiscal Policy and Public Financial Management, with each headed by a Dean and Vice Dean. To ensure the success of the System, some preliminary guidelines were established. Despite a number of interventions, the Faculties have not lived up to the initial expectations. This study was therefore commissioned to assess the reasons for this inactiveness and proffer suggestions for reviving the system. The study adopted the survey-based approach in conducting the study. The population for the study was the total membership of the Institute in good standing, which stood at 4390 as at April 2019. The questionnaire was the primary instrument for collecting the data. In all, 188 members (4.3% of the population) made up of 147 male (78.2%) and 41 (21.8%) females responded. Majority of respondents were in the 30 – 39 age bracket (39.4%), with most admitted in 2016 (19.1%). About 65% of respondents are members of ICAG’s District Societies, from 17 different Societies, although majority were from GANDS (22.5%). Of the 188 respondents, 150 (79.8%) were aware of the Faculty System, with majority of those being male. ICAG Programmes (65.1%), ICAG Offices (11.8%) and District Societies (11.8%) were the most common media by which people became aware of the Faculties. Despite being aware, only 32.4% of respondents have actually registered to join the Faculties, with the most common Faculties being Taxation and Fiscal Policy (26.67%), Audit and Assurance (18.52%) and Public Financial Management (17.78%). Of 73 respondents, only 9 had ever attended faculty meetings or activities. Reasons for non-attendance to meetings include no or poor communication (43.8%), Time constraints (40.6%) and unavailability. For members who had not registered to join the Faculties, their major reasons were not being aware (53.49%), time constraints (26.69%), not compulsory, living outside Accra, no knowledge of registration process etc. Recommendations made include the election of an Executive Committee for Faculties by members, appointment of District Society Coordinators, incentivising the executives, making faculty registration compulsory for all members, faculty activities counting for CPD credits, decentralising the faculty system and pursuing a coordinated promotion drive, with clear lines of communication which employ the use of ICT and social media.
