Harrigan: More VIslanders needed in Accounting field
Harrigan is making an appeal to VIslanders to become accountants
ROAD TOWN, Tortola, VI – Virgin Islanders are encouraged to enter the field of Accounting because there is a shortage of Accountants in the Territory.
This request was made by Fifth District Representative during his debate of the Banks and Trust Companies (Amendment) Act, 2010 in House of Assembly on Thursday, November 4, 2010.
In showing his support of the Bill, Hon. Harrigan noted that the Financial Services sector, one of the pillars of the BVI’s economy, is a broad one and VIslanders should take advantage of it.
“There is a lot of room for Accountants in these companies. Mr Speaker, companies here actually have to import Accountants into the Trust Companies and our young people need to get into that area so that we can take our rightful places in these companies,” Harrigan told the House.
He added, “I have been told that companies prefer to hire locals because it is getting so difficult to recruit persons from other countries. But for some reason or the other our people don’t like getting in the Accounting area.”
Qualified auditors needed
The Fifth District Representative pointed out that Government should only allow fully qualified and international recognised auditors “to be able to sign off on our accounts of trust companies and management companies.”
“Mr. Speaker auditors are fighting hard to maintain the high standards of financial reporting of any company in the world. We have seen a number of high profile cases of how fraud and financial reporting can ruin the reputation of businesses in that profession. Therefore, it is important that auditors signing off companies in this Territory are fully qualified,” Hon Harrigan stated.
He also noted that the Bill, which was passed the same day, will assist the BVI Association of Professional Accountants with its mandate.
According to Harrigan the newly formed Association is getting a private members Bill drafted to align its members with the recognisable standards
“The act will allow the Association to disciple its members, which is the only way to hold members accountable for the decisions they make and the work that they do,” he concluded.
At Large Representative, Vernon Malone and leader of the Opposition, Dr D Orlando Smith also supported the Bill.
3 Responses to “Harrigan: More VIslanders needed in Accounting field”
Leave a Reply
Follow Us On
Related posts
Popular Tags
Recent Comments
- talk girl talk on BFEC parent complaint on principal can be personal – says PTA President
- Infared Beam on Ottley’s hat trick inspires Islanders
- Iron Lion on Businesses expect far too much from school leavers – Hon. Fahie
- yellow on BVP (Truth for the Youth)… FROM PROTOCOL – FOOT N ALL
- Iron Lion on VI pilots lobbying for national airline
An accounting qualification is not easily attainable, but with hard work it is achievable.
The more popular degrees or professions have one thing in common. That is, one can attend college submit assignments, papers, exams and get graded over the course of the degree. However, an accounting qualification is attained by passing very rigorous uniform examinations. These exams are not accumulated with a semester grade but rather the scores attained on these stand alone exams determines whether one passes or fails. I would dare to say that an accounting qualification is by far one of the most difficult (but very rewarding) professions to attain.
This makes a lot of sense, however I am a BVIslander with a Certified Public Accounting (CPA) designation, B.S in Finance and Masters in Accounting and still can’t find a job that would make me an offer I can’t refuse. Why should I settle for less, is asking $60,000-$80,000 for my years of hard work and studying really too much for me? I bet there is a non-belonger or non-BVIslander being paid this or more.