TLHABO KGOSIEMANG
Botswana Accountancy Oversight Authority BAOA and Company Intellectual Property Authority CIPA have signed an agreement to ensure adherence and compliance of provisions within the Companies Act that relates to financial preparation and reporting.
The two parastatals signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Tuesday in Gaborone in order to establish a well structured and formalized approach to dealing with issues of non-compliance to financial reporting by companies as set out under the requirements of both the companies Act and the Financial Reporting Act.
When signing an MOU, CIPA Registrar General Paul Masena said this partnership provides an opportunity for both institutions to ensure companies depending on size and type register and prepare financial statements and annual reports with CIPA, as it is mandated to register businesses and protect intellectual property.
“The financial statements should then be audited and should conform to international financial reporting standards and any other national set standards for financial reporting’’, Masena said.
He highlighted that CIPA is not an expert authority on the subject of financial reporting; therefore, this partnership is essential as BAOA will provide guidance and relevant information relating to financial reporting.
CIPA is on the verge of transiting from manual to electronic registration of companies and business names.
A new strategic partnership established between the two organizations will allow both organizations to provide training as well as information sharing regarding their specific products and service offerings to officers from both sides.
“This would build capacity of the officers from the two agencies in terms of improved understanding of their respective mandates and hence present a better opportunity to serve the business community more efficiently based on their shared customer value brought about by his partnership,’’ Masena indicted.
Moreover, this partnership provides an opportunity for both institutions to engage on matters of mutual interest and pool resources together to promote the operational effectiveness of both entities.
For his part, BAOA Chief Executive Officer Duncan Majinda said that this shared responsibility will help both entities to pursue their mandates effectively and economically and in the whole process eliminating wastage.
‘’This MOU is a useful tool that we can rely upon until the relevant statutes are rationalized and aligned’’, he concluded.
BAOA was created by statutes enacted by Botswana parliament with an interest in preparation of financial statements prepared in accordance with prescribed financial reporting frameworks and audited in accordance with prescribed auditing frameworks.