The Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi, on Wednesday, November 20, asked all accountants to lead the charge in driving sustainability and influencing Kenya’s economic trajectory.
While speaking to the accountants during the 41st annual seminar of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (ICPAK), Mbadi emphasised the role of accountants in ensuring sustainability in all practices across both the private and public sectors.
In light of this year’s theme, “Sustainability and the Future: Positioning Professionals as Change Ambassadors,” the CS highlighted the role of sustainability in addressing critical challenges such as climate change, resource depletion, and inequality.
The CS called on professionals to practice this by utilising their influence to drive policies and practices that prioritise environmental stewardship and social equity.
“ICPAK’s influence, with over 35,000 members, is vital for upholding ethical standards and fostering competence across industries,” he stated.
However, he went further to laud them for their role in the 2024/2025 budget process, the National Tax Policy, and the development of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) roadmap.
Reiterating their key role on this journey, Mbadi asked the professionals to contribute actionable proposals to help the government deal with the current economic hardships and achieve its long-term goals.
Mbadi then highlighted some of the projects that had been achieved by integrating sustainability, including the Climate Change Act of 2016 and the Climate Finance Landscape Report.
In spite of this, he noted that Kenya was still experiencing several challenges in this journey, such as a rise in the country’s carbon emissions.
The CS revealed that the country had experienced a worrying boom in fossil emissions, reaching up to 21.5 million tons in 2022, which was an increase of 2.85 per cent from the previous year.
In addition to being pioneers in the integration of sustainable practices in the financial sector, he also urged them to support key bills brought before the Parliament seeking to amend key frameworks in the economic sector.
The Bills that are currently in the public participation phase include the Tax Procedures (Amendment) Bill 2024 and the Public Finance (Amendment) Bill 2024, and they seek to address the disparities caused after the Finance Bill 2024 was rejected by Kenyans.
