Subsequent to a successful training on the Introduction to IFRS – Financial Instruments for financial institutions in August 2017, DT Associates has again concluded another milestone training – “Practical Guide for the implementation of IFRS 9”. This International Financial Reporting Standard on Financial Instruments establishes principles for the financial reporting of financial assets and financial liabilities. It has a mandatory effective date for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2018, with earlier application permitted. The 3 day practical guide training held at the Senegambia Beach Hotel was attended by majority of the Banks in the country including the Central Bank of The Gambia.
The Managing Partner of DT Associates Mrs. Aji Penda Sankareh in her welcoming remarks, thanked all the participants and the heads of their institutions for coming back to participate in the follow-up training. She said the large turnout goes to show the strong commitment by the banks as they gear up to becoming IFRS 9 compliant by January 2018. She encouraged participants to make good use of the training to learn and strive to gain as much knowledge as possible to facilitate smooth implementation of IFRS 9 in their respective institutions.
The training facilitated by an IFRS Expert, Mr. Kwabena Situ of Deloitte Ghana guided participants in the preparation of Practical Implementation Road Maps for IFRS 9 for their respective banks. The Road Maps were reviewed and improved as part of the practical interactive sessions. Key aspects of the sessions included Loan Segmentation, Impairment computation, Classification and Valuation of Financial Instruments, and Disclosures; Governance issues around IFRS 9 and Hedge Accounting.
The discussions during the training were rich and engaging. The expert’s vast experience obtained from across industries and regions around the world, provided unique opportunities for valuable guidance and solutions to challenges being faced by the participants in their institutions. The hands-on approach used in the training was particularly effective and appreciated by the participants.
The closing remarks were given by Mr. Modika Bah of DT Associates in closing the training on Wednesday 23 November; he recognised the high level of commitment demonstrated by participants to attain readiness for successful implementation of the Standard. DT Associates, the largest accountancy firm in the country, through its client focused approach, is ready to partner with Banks to support them in implementing IFRS 9, Mr Bah added. The Firm has a large pool of resources for the various needs of clients.
Participants were issued certificates of achievement. In delivering the vote of thanks Ms. Fatou Gassama of Zenith Bank, on behalf of the participants thanked DT Associates for conducting another successful practical training yet again. She also thanked her colleagues from the other banks for taking part in this useful training, noting that IFRS 9 affects all of them.”Although it is a demanding process to become fully IFRS compliant, I hope that with determination and the knowledge gained from this training, we will get there eventually” she concluded.
