ICAN Marks 2025 Global Accounting Day, Calls for Integrity and Innovation in the Profession
ICAN members and students gathered at YABATECH, Lagos, to mark the 2025 International Accounting Day.
The event honored the profession’s global impact, celebrating accountability, ethics, and innovation in financial management.
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) has joined millions of professionals across the world to celebrate the 2025 International Accounting Day. The South-West regional ceremony took place at the Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH) in Lagos, attracting members of the Institute, students, and academics from various institutions.
The event highlighted the crucial role of accountants in strengthening accountability, transparency, and good governance across public and private sectors. It also served as a platform to honor the history and evolution of the accounting profession while recognizing the contributions of Nigerian accountants to national development.
Representing ICAN President, Mallam Haruna Yahaya, the immediate past president, Chief DCS Alaribe, commended over five million accounting professionals worldwide. He described accountants as “unsung heroes behind the financial stability of businesses, governments, and communities.”
Chief Alaribe traced the roots of the profession to Luca Pacioli, whose 1494 publication on double-entry bookkeeping became the foundation of modern accounting practice. Quoting Yahaya, he reminded participants that “long before the age of artificial intelligence and analytics, the accountant’s pen was already shaping the course of human progress through discipline, accuracy, and integrity.”
He lauded ICAN’s 67,000 members for their professionalism and dedication, noting that their integrity has helped sustain public confidence in Nigeria’s financial systems. Yahaya’s message also recognized the role of global bodies such as the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), the Pan African Federation of Accountants (PAFA), and the Association of Accountancy Bodies in West Africa (ABWA) in promoting ethics and accountability across the continent.
“When diligence meets discipline, greatness is inevitable,” Yahaya said. “Together, let us continue to build a profession and a nation anchored in accountability, innovation, and trust.”
In his remarks, Dr. Fadipe Adeniyi Olubunmi, the Dean of the School of Management and Business Studies and a Council Member of YABATECH, expressed appreciation for ICAN’s decision to host the 2025 celebration at the college. He said the event reflected the school’s strong relationship with ICAN and its shared vision for excellence in professional education.
Dr. Fadipe revealed that nearly 80 percent of the Accountancy Department’s lecturers are ICAN fellows, ensuring that students are trained under global standards that integrate digital transformation into learning. He also disclosed that two students from the department recently qualified as ICAN members while still in school, a development he described as a milestone for the institution.
He praised YABATECH’s Rector, Dr. Adedotun Ibrahim Abdul, for creating the Linkage Directorate, which connects the academic community with corporate organizations to align theory with real-world practice. He noted that the college’s Accountancy Department recently won second place in a regional competition organized by the University of Lagos, receiving a cash prize of N150,000 as the only polytechnic among the contestants.
According to him, some students also participated in an industrial training exchange program in Japan, an achievement that underlines YABATECH’s growing international recognition. “We are proud of our students. They are doing the profession proud, and we will continue to nurture more success stories,” Dr. Fadipe said.
In his address, the Rector, Dr. Abdul, encouraged students to take control of their future, stressing that their success or failure lies in their own hands. “Your fate lies in your hands,” he said. “Don’t entrust it to anyone, not even your mentors or spiritual leaders. When you succeed, the college will celebrate you. But when you fail and blame others, it becomes only a story. And stories are meaningful only when they end in success.”
He described accounting students as future leaders who will drive financial integrity in both local and international businesses. “Wherever there is accountability, accountants are indispensable,” he said, urging them to remain focused and resilient despite challenges.
Dr. Abdul thanked ICAN for hosting the regional event at YABATECH and reaffirmed the college’s commitment to producing competent and ethical graduates. “On behalf of our Council, faculty, staff, and students, I promise that YABATECH will not let the accounting world down,” he concluded.
The event ended with renewed calls for Nigerian accountants to uphold integrity, adapt to global innovations, and continue shaping the nation’s economic and governance landscape through professionalism and ethical service.
