The range of services that accounting firms provide to their clients is both broad and diverse. As a matter of fact, there is a good choice of Accounting firms in Zambia including affiliates of the global accountancy groups like KPMG, PwC, Ernest and Young and Deloitte.
The following directory provides a list of Zica registered audit firms to will help you find accountancy, audit and tax experts easily.
It is a complete list of audit firms, professional accounting firms that are fully registered by Zica both non audit practice firms and audit practice firms
Souce: Zica Website
Home » Posts filed under Zambia Accountancy
Zica Registered Audit Firms
7 Ways On How An Accountant Can Help Businesses Today
Zica Graduates |
Free Zica Accountancy Programme Download
Those with a lust for learning who happen to also enjoy testing the limits of what the accountancy profession in the region is offering in 2012 definitely don’t have to worry about finding new resources to guide them. The accounting profession is undergoing significant change and new opportunities are opening up for non-accounting professionals wishing to enter the field of accounting. Hundreds, if not thousands, of accountancy schools are out there just waiting for prospective students to request this free information.
In today’s article, I want to share a completely free resource, the ZICA Student-Handbook New 2012 Syllabus. A guide to all Zica Accountancy Programme for students.
There has never been a greater need for this new zica accountancy programme new syllabus in the accounting profession than now, Download a free copy of zica syllabus. It is completely free to download.
If you found this download useful please leave your comment. We value your contributions on this website.
What Accountancy Students Must Know
Online Education in Zambia- Courses ,Colleges and Universities
Nowadays, to get access to education, you don’t have to spend several years in college and million of Kwachas on tuition fees. ALISON provides free online learning to users in Zambia. It is usually worrying and sometimes interesting to listen to the counts of desperate situations of “failures” in accounting field.
It would appear like there is a just cause to fail to pursue accounting courses.
There are normally “good” reasons or justifications for not pursuing any accounting course just like there are very good reasons to pursue any other course.
A person who was freezing or feeling very cold throughout the night would blame the bad weather for the cold, little will there be blame on not having enough blanket cover for the very long night.
In case of student’s failure to pursue accounting courses, blame is likely to be pushed on lack of universities offering online accounting courses in their area, difficult subjects such as auditing, cost accounting included in accounting courses
Rarely will there be blame on lack of self commitment to studies, interest in accounting and lack of good course study materials.
Accounting is a vibrant and rapidly expanding field. Many students now pursue accounting courses online in colleges and universities. There are many open universities such as The Zambian Open University (ZAOU) located in the suburb of Villa Elizabetha offering online courses that allow students to learn during their spare time and at their own pace.The benefits of studying by distance learning in Zambia are many and varied. The opportunity to work alongside studies, the flexibility to fit studies around other activities and more.
Generally, accounting courses give students an understanding of the real world of business and help develop analytical and problem solving skills required to manage business operations.
If you are looking to start a career in business, accounting is the right field for you. There are many free online courses for non accountants. Taking this online accounting course will help you begin to develop knowledge and skills necessary to become a successful accountant.
113 Accounting firms You Should Know
Do you search everywhere for firms offering accounting services in Zambia? Start looking in the right place for professional accounting firms. Today, I want to show you a list of 113 professional firms I recently stumbled upon. These firms provide accounting and audit services at a fee.
I will first start with the big four names in the accounting industry, these are members of the global network of the big4 accounting firms in the world before I move to the other 116 accounting firms.
Deloitte and Touché has offices on the second floor of Kafue house along chachacha road in Lusaka and their Kitwe office is at fookes house Pramo Avenue.
Pricewaterhouse coopers is among the big four accounting firms and has offices in Lusaka, Kitwe and Ndola. Their Lusaka office is on the 7th floor NSCB building north end on Cairo road while the Kitwe office is at Mukuba pension house along President Avenue and their Ndola office is on the 4th floor BOZ annex.
Ernest and Young is also ranked among the big4 accounting firms. They have offices in Zambia Located in Lusaka and Kitwe. Their Lusaka office is on 1st floor Development house while their Kitwe offices 2nd floor mukuba pension house at the corner of Kantanta Street and President Avenue.
KPMG is another global network off professional firms that provide audit, advisory and tax services in a number of countries. In Zambia, their offices are on Nkwanzi house along chachacha road in Lusaka, 2nd floor Canada house along President Avenue in Ndola and on 1st floor mutondo house in Kitwe.
Other accounting firms I know include Grant Thornton, Moores Roland, BDO Spencer steward Zambia situated at Bata boulevard show grounds and many more.
Here is the list of 113 professional accounting firms including 22 non audit practicing firms their telephone numbers and principle contact persons.
If your favorite accounting firm is not listed, feel free to let others know about it by leaving your comment.
MSEs Reporting Standard -Why Know it?
Recently, I had a conversation with a fellow accountant and it struck me that he was ignorant about this launch of the three tier financial reporting framework in Zambia. I think this is common nowadays as more business people are glued to social networks like facebook and political news.
If you found this information helpful, don't hesitate to leave your comment.
Finding a Better Accountant
Today, Businesses of all types need an Accountant. Therefore, it is logical to assume that the choice of your Accountant can help you find success in your business. But how do you find a good Accountant? Here are my suggestions to help you find a good Accountant you can really be proud of.
Have you ever heard of this widely view among non-Accountant colleagues that “Accountants jealously guard their realm by surrounding a very simple subject in incomprehensible jargon”? In fact, this belief that Accountant speak in jargon and assume that everyone understands it, is even more common nowadays.
The truth is that, good Accountants spend much of their time providing timely and relevant information to others believing that it is simple clear and helpful and that if anything is missing, the recipients will surely ask pertinent questions. So don’t be misled by these myths about Accountants.
Besides, you are at liberty to hire an Accountant or change your Accountant any time. But don’t get me wrong, am not suggesting that it is better to prepare your own accounts without the help of a professional Accountant because it can be time consuming, stressful and confusing especially if you have little or no knowledge about bookkeeping.
Essentially, ask yourself these questions, why do I need an Accountant? What exactly do I want this Accountant to do in my business?
Here are the two most important ways of finding a good Accountant for your Business.
Referrals
The best way to find a good Accountant is by referrals; always ask for referrals when hiring your Accountant. If you are determined that your business needs an Accountant, don’t search for an Accountant everywhere. Start looking in the right places. An Accountant can tell you all sorts of “jargon” about things they are capable of doing, but what is important to your business is how good they can do it.
Registered Accountant
Preferably, get an Accountant among members of professional Accountancy bodies, Ask for membership to any Chartered Accountant body or association dedicated to educating, certifying and training Accountants in your country. In some countries, every “Jim and Jack” can describe themselves or practice as Accountants even if they have no professional qualifications but one can never describe themselves as Chartered Accountant unless he is a registered member of an institute.
In Zambia, the registration of every Accountant with ZICA is a must because of the requirement which states in part that no person shall, unless he is a registered Accountant (a) Practice as, offer his services as or hold himself out to be a qualified Accountant, Auditor, Tax Consultant or Tax advisor.
All institutes of Chartered Accountants require their members to undertake a minimum level of continuing professional development CPD to stay ahead of their peers and provide various technical help lines and a good environment for professional networking and career and business development.
Free Proven IFRS e-learning Modules
There is growing interest in e-learning from all displines. Today, e-learning technology is being utilized to meet learning and teaching needs in many organizations. Just recently, the Zambia Centre for Accountancy Studies ZCAS launched its e-learning platform.
Despite the growing interest and the success scored so far in Zambian e-learning programs, and in the other parts of the world , it is not without constraints and limitations. The fundamental obstacle to the growth of e-learning especially in Africa is still the lack of access to the necessary learning management systems (LMS).
Besides, e-learning is referred to as the intentional use of networked information and communications technology in teaching and learning. So I can simply say that, without “electronic” there can be no e-learning.
The corporate sector on the hand is interested in e-learning as a way of rationalizing costs of their in-house staff training activities.
Therefore, if you are an Accountant looking for a free and cost effective IFRS e-learning system then just read on.
In 2004 when many countries were preparing for the adoption of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), Deloitte launched a comprehensive set of IFRS e-learning materials on International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). After releasing its e-learning program internally, Deloitte decided to make the IFRS e-learning program available to the public absolutely for free.
Since then, many major corporations have chosen to use this IFRS e-learning Software to educate staff and students on IFRS and have installed the elearning Modules on their intranets.
I know by now you are itching to know how to register for this free valuable IFRS e-learning program. Here is all you have to do. Go to the Deloitte IFRS e-learning page and register for the program and access the e-learning modules.
A total of about 37 modules are available so far which include IFRS 1 First time Adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards, IFRS 2 Share-based Payments, IFRS 3 Business Combinations, IFRS 5 Non-current Assets Held for Sale and Discontinued Operations and many more.
Each module has an approximate size of 3MB and can be downloaded as a Zip file. That’s it! You will then be taken through real life scenarios to demonstrate the application of IFRS, explanations, principles, worked examples and a printable certificate if you pass the IFRS assessment at the end of each module. Register today and enjoy free IFRS e-learning facilities.
The Ugly side of a Software Consultant
The value of Software Consultants cannot be under estimated. However, with budget cuts sweeping across businesses, the thought of adding a high priced Accounting firm or a software consultant to a company’s budget is a thorny issue for most businesses today.
So, should you hire a software consultant or go it alone? Besides, what does it really take? As simple as installing or downloading software and if something goes wrong along the way, you simply erase everything and start all over again, Right? Well I would say, most of the times yes but not always especially when it comes to Accounting systems.
Allowing a certified consultant or a team of software consultants with deep industry knowledge in software training to help design, maintain or upgrade your software can help flip your business on the right track and improve productivity.
In the long run, you can save time, money and overcome your current business obstacles or even avoid costly mistakes in future.
In fact, it is estimated that those who invest 10% of their project resources in consultancy are most likely to save the remaining 90% while those who don’t are likely to lose 70% of their resources.
It is quite evident that, consulting Accounting firms in Zambia, particularly software consultants, is not a very common trend among business men and women.
What many companies fail to realize, however, is that the right software consultant can help minimize your project risk, accelerate the deployment process and educate your employees as to the proper use of the software product.
Honestly, there are very few people if any, that can take a 2011 paged Accounting system manual and a terminal, then sit, practice and become fully versed with the new software product. Most of us certainly need presentation or a tutor, including various forms of assistance in learning.
We have a lot of accounting firms in Zambia including consultants who are ready to provide such help, of course at a fee that no serious investor small or big would consider too high.
But, hang on a second. Don’t rush out and hire a consultant just yet before you know the ugly side. Before hiring a software consultant, ask the right questions when interviewing the candidates and check up on their references. I know you cannot afford to be stuck with a software consultant that can’t deliver on their promises.
If you have had any ugly experience with software consultant feel free to leave your comment.
The “Short Cut” to ACCA Qualification!
Let’s face it, Study courses are similar in nature and accounting is no exception, considering that the subject contents are by large similar, to facilitate continuity and avoid repetition and duplication of knowledge acquisition,a candidate pursuing a particular Accounting course is normally allowed to apply for “exemptions” in the subjects that are deemed equal in terms of content and depth of coverage. So if you are looking for a “short cut” to a professional qualification, then just read on.
This article is inspired by the growing number of search queries this website has been receiving from “prospecting students” looking for information on ACCA exemptions, the Syllabus and how they can get started with the ACCA qualification.
“ACCA (The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) is the largest and fastest growing global professional accounting body with over 296000 students and over 115000 members in 170 countries, with the aim to offer the first choice qualification to people of application, ability and ambition around the world who seek a rewarding career in Accountancy, Finance and Management.”
Coming back to the main question. What is the shortest possible way to start your Accounting career with ACCA? From the available information, ACCA offers various entry points onto its qualification depending on your previous academic qualifications though the minimum requirements are that you
must have 2 A levels and 3 GCSEs or equivalent in five separate subjects including English and Mathematics and a minimum age of 18 and above.
Alternatively, you can also register with ACCA in one of these two ways if you don’t meet the minimum entry requirements.
Mature Student Entry Route(MSER)
If you are 21 years and above, the mature student entry is the right route to take and if you don’t have any other formal academic qualification, you can choose to start with the Certified Accounting Technicians (CAT) qualification first and then transfer to the skills module of ACCA and claim exemptions.
Like I earlier stated, your previous qualifications may entitle you to exemptions from some of the ACCA exams. This means you can start your studies at the most appropriate level according to your knowledge and skills. More importantly you will avoid studying subjects that you already know. This is what I call a “short cut”. The granting of exemptions by each respective professional body is however not automatic and obviously, certain conditions have to be fulfilled.
Before taking this route, visit accaglobal website for the full information on exemptions.
“ACCA has a network of nearly 80 global offices and centers around the world on hand to offer you guidance and support every step of the way as you progress towards membership.”
If you found this post helpful please feel free to leave your comment.
Is CIMA Equivalent to Masters in 2014?
In 2008, the CIMA- Chartered Institute of Chartered Accountants professional qualification was ranked equivalent to a master’s degree by the independent UK agency responsible for government scoring of immigrants’ qualifications.
According to this article published on 9 July 2008 on cimaglobal.com website, CIMA was awarded a point score of 35 the same as Msc by the National Recognition Information Centre for the United Kingdom UK NARIC the independent body that assesses and scores qualifications from around the world.
There has been debate among “critics” and CIMA students in various countries including Zambia whether this meant that CIMA was equivalent to any master’s degree from any University in the world.
This answer I found on the Community discussions on cimaglobal.com puts to rest all debates on what CIMA is equivalent to.
“CIMA is equivalent to a master’s degree ONLY for the purpose of immigration to the UK-this means that if you hold the CIMA professional qualification and you are applying to immigrate to the UK as a highly skilled worker, you will receive the same number of ‘points’ as someone with a master’s degree”.
This does not change the equivalency granted to the CIMA qualification by respective governments in different countries.
My focus in this article is not to fuel this debate but rather draw your attention to only two very important points about CIMA.
What is the significance of 2008 CIMA ranking to 2014, 2015 and the years to come?
It shows the prestige the CIMA professional qualification holds not only in the UK but through out the world and it also demonstrates the portability of the qualification enabling individuals to work and study where ever they wish.
It is further proof of the relevance of the CIMA qualification to business. According to independent research conducted by the University of Bath school of Management, CIMA’s syllabus and examination structure are the most relevant to the needs of business. As a matter of fact CIMA prides itself on the Commercial relevance of its syllabus, which evolves continually to reflect the latest developments in global business.
In one of my earlier articles I stated that among the ways to learn bookkeeping is taking a professional course such as CIMA. For more information you can visit cimaglobal.com
Reference:
The Accountant-Dec 2008 Issue
Why SME-s Need Standards
If you are a business owner you may be asking your self but why: and what this means to your business.
In this article I wish to highlight the importance of accounting standards and the need to develop a simplified financial reporting framework for SMEs.
Why do we Need Accounting Standards?
You need accounting standards so that financial statements will fairly and consistently describe the financial performance of your business, without the standards, users of financial statements such as commercial banks and other statutory institutions would need to learn the accounting rules of each and every client or company they deal with and comparisons between these companies would be very difficult.
The accounting standards used today conform to the generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). These principles are called generally accepted for one simple reason. An Authoritative body set the principles and the accounting profession widely accepts these principles as appropriate.
Why Adopt a Simplified Financial Reporting Framework for SMEs?
In 2009 National Budget, the income tax act was amended to provide for all limited companies to include audited financial statements when filing in tax returns.
Any audited financial statements conform to the generally accepted accounting principles this meant that every small to medium business was required to engage a qualified accountant and engage an audit firm to audit their books. This requirement has been strongly argued by a number of stakeholders that it will increase the cost of doing business for SMEs especially start up businesses.
The move by ZICA to engage AMG Global Chartered Accountants to develop and recommend a standard format for financial statements for SMEs will be of great benefit to small business owners.
In addition, adopting a simple format will help small business owners produce financial statements easily with all necessary information requirements using generally accepted accounting principles in a cost effective way.
Zambia Accountants Act and ZICA
The Accountants bill was enacted in Zambia by parliament into an Accountants Act No.13 of 2008 on 24 September 2008.
The enactment bought new challenges on ZICA as a regulatory body for the Accountancy profession in Zambia and the need to ensure total compliance pertaining to the various provisions contained in the Act.
In addition to that there is still need for ZICA members and Accountants in general to access the revised act to enable them become aware of the changes in the act.
Among the notable changes in the Accountants act 2008 are:
Section 11: Classes of Members
This section saw abolishment of the provision that allowed the ZICA Council to award honorary classes of membership of the institute to any individual who, in the opinion of the council, had rendered exemplary services to the profession of accountancy.
Section 12: Application for Registration as an Accountant
Subsection (1) stipulates that a person, who intends to be employed as an accountant or to practice as an accountant in Zambia, shall apply to the institute for registration in the prescribed manner and form upon payment of the prescribed fee.
Subsection (2) further states that “the Institute shall register an applicant as an accountant where the institute is satisfied that:
Subject to subsection(2) of section eleven (11), the applicant is an affiliate, Associate or fellow of a body approved by the Institute; the applicant has passed the examinations of the institute; if the applicant has a foreign qualification, the applicant should undertake such number of courses as prescribed by the institute; and the applicant is of good character and is not disqualified for registration under this act.
Subsection (3) States that “the Institute may register a person as an accountant under this Act if the person is not a citizen of Zambia or is not practicing or working as an Accountant in Zambia prior to the application if that person:-
Is engaged to work as an Accountant in Zambia under an international agreement entered into by the Government of the Republic of Zambia; or undertakes such number of courses as prescribed under the relevant laws of Zambia as the Institute may determine and passes the final examination set by the institute for the courses.
Section 13 Recognition of foreign qualifications
This section provides that the Minister may, on the recommendation of the institute, by Statutory Instrument, recognise any local and foreign qualification accredited by the Institute for purpose of registration under this Act.
Section 19 Practicing Certificate and Non-audit practicing certificate
Subsection (2) states that “the Institute shall, where the applicant:-
has been certified by a professional body or a body recognized under section thirteen (13) to have complied with the education training requirements; and has passed the competence practice examinations set by the institute and has obtained competence to practice and a period of more than seven (7) years has elapsed between the date of complying with the education and training requirements and the date of application; issue the applicant with a practicing certificate or a non-audit practicing certificate in the prescribed manner.
Section 24 Registration of firms
Subsection (1) states that “a person who registers a firm of Accountants under the Registration of Business Names Act shall register the firm with the institute in the prescribed manner and form upon payment of the prescribed fee”
As may be seen, the Zambia Accountants Act concerns a wide spectrum of stakeholders which includes employers, entrepreneurs, Investors and of course the Zambia Institute of chartered Accountants ZICA to ensure that the performance and image of the Accountancy profession as a whole is enhanced. For further information and clarification contact ZICA secretariat or Visit http://www.zica.zm/
REFERENCE
The Accountant-Issue No:29