In an award giving ceremony held on the 20th of May 2024 at the Audit Bhaban in Dhaka, the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) has awarded 63 officials from the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General (OCAG) of Bangladesh with professional Certificates in Management and Financial Accounting. This professional certificate equips the OCAG officials with a comprehensive array of professional and transferable skills, applicable across diverse finance and accounting contexts.
The initiative is a part of the OCAG’s Audit Professionalisation Programme, which was funded by the European Union’s Technical Assistance to Support the Implementation of the PFM Reform Strategic Plan in Bangladesh, implemented by DT Global. Since March 2023, CIPFA and Technical Assistance have collaborated closely to roll out the learning programme. This collaboration has played an instrumental role in nurturing talent and contributing to the nation’s financial landscape by developing 63 CIPFA certificate holders, boasting an overall success rate of 82.9%. This accomplishment comes on the heels of extraordinary results in both the CIPFA Management Accounting Examinations. 90% candidates passed with flying colours in June 2023, while 89% candidates passed the CIPFA Financial Accounting Examination in September 2023. The modules cover various learning elements, including the preparation of financial statements, ethical behaviour, control techniques, costing and budgeting, variance analysis, and performance evaluation, amongst others.
During the certificate awarding ceremony, Md. Nurul Islam, the Hon’ble Comptroller and Auditor General of Bangladesh, remarked: “Pursuing CIPFA qualifications is part of our audit professionalisation agenda, which is embedded in the agreed work plan of our ongoing reform intervention supported by the European Union. The fundamental purpose of this agenda is to create a critical mass of CIPFA qualification holders to meet the emerging challenges mainly arising from the ever-evolving landscape of public financial management in our country. We consider CIPFA as our partner in our plans to develop our human resources as it is an institution globally dedicated to excellence in public financial management.
In partnering with professional bodies like CIPFA, we want to create a resource pool that can help ensure the realization of our vision: Enhancing accountability and transparency for utilization of public resources that promotes value and benefit to citizens.”
Islam also expressed his gratitude to Enrico Lorenzon, Team Leader, Inclusive Governance, Delegation of the European Union to Bangladesh, for his participation during the event and to the European Union for their consistent support in implementing the reform agenda that aims to bring about improvements in the effectiveness of the Supreme Audit Institution.
During the certificate awarding ceremony, Khalid Hamid, International Director at CIPFA, remarked: “CIPFA is delighted to award certificates to this extremely successful cohort of officials from the OCAG in Bangladesh. The professionalism and performance amongst programme participants have been extraordinary from day one, and today we had the opportunity to recognise that publicly.
It is also important to highlight that the Hon’ble Comptroller and Auditor General of Bangladesh, Md. Nurul Islam, and his dedicated team of OCAG colleagues were instrumental in the success of this learning programme. It is encouraging to see public sector leaders advocating for the principles of strong public financial management (PFM) and supporting opportunities for professional development and learning within their institutions.”