When will accounting be as respected as medicine, engineering and law in Nepal?

The statistics are depressing. Earlier this year a Valley-wide study commissioned by the Private Sector Promotion Project of GTZ-Nepal found only 2,000 out of almost 7,000 auditors and accountants are professionally active, and those not necessarily full time. From Nepali affiliates of Global Big Four accounting firms to one-man-outfits run by D-Class Registered Auditors, the two major concerns of accountants were expanding their share in a Rs 450 million market and sprucing up their professional image, which, let's face it, is notorious for less than ethical practices.

To some extent, those concerns emanate from a historical legacy. After all, until six years ago, it used to be easy to be an accountant in Nepal. All one needed to do was submit educational credentials to the Office of the Auditor General, who would then issue a license-arbitrarily, perfunctorily and inevitably. This led to an explosion in the number of auditors and accountants of varying competencies.

In the meantime, highly qualified Chartered Accountants decided enough was enough, and started lobbying for a new Nepal Chartered Accountants Act. Enacted in 1997, the act paved the way for a government-recognised autonomous, professionally managed institute that would serve as both license-issuer and a business membership organisation. And so, in 1998 the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nepal (ICAN) came into being with a mission statement that sought: "to be recognised as a respected and highly professional accounting body, providing leadership on standards, education and self-regulation in Nepal".

To its credit, in the last four years ICAN has worked hard. Along the way they earned enemies who wanted to maintain the status quo but they continued to conduct examinations, issue licenses, run skill upgrade workshops, foster relations with donor agencies and counterparts abroad to make itself a financially strong entity that demanded high professional standards. Unwilling to rest on their laurels, ICAN officials say much remains to be done, especially after their elections later this month.

As ICAN members solicit votes in the next two weeks, they might want to spell out what more they will do to make accounting a more respectable profession. Raising requirements of entry, though important, is only the first step. After all, in a profession that can only grow if more clients buy its services, improving public perception about auditors and accountants is necessary for long term growth.

ICAN together with the Big Four affiliates is in a unique position to take industry-wide proactive leadership. They can market the strengths of the entire profession to Nepali firms that are either unaware or unsure about the range of services that auditors and accountants offer beyond pushing the usual statutory paperwork. Having completed the groundwork for their professional development infrastructure, the challenge facing ICAN's new executive committee is convincing the junta that they are vital to business success, and not a burden to be avoided or called upon a day before filing audit or tax reports.