Institute Of Chartered Secretaries And Administrators

An investigation into the institute of chartered secretaries and administrators and the possibilities of expanding their operations into Nigeria

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to investigate the institute of chartered secretaries and administrators and the possibilities of expanding their operations into Nigeria. The paper is based on published literature and documentary evidence from records. The paper discusses the gains of the past, particularly the high hopes and the expansion and problems that bedeviled the institutions and archives and records management in the country among which are poor funding, lack of appreciation of the importance of archives, obsolete equipment and high staff turnover.

Table of Contents

Introduction4

Background4

Objective Of The Study5

Scope of the Study5

Literature Review7

The regulatory framework for auditing in Nigeria7

Regulation of auditing by the government7

Regulation of auditing by the profession[14]9

Early leadership10

Achievements11

Training12

Profile13

Education14

Divisions15

The ICSA qualifying scheme16

The Composition of Council17

The Professional Standards Committee18

Operational management of the Institute and its Divisions18

Methodology20

Findings24

Improvement In The Quality Of Service28

Conclusion33

Recommendations37

Personal Reflection42

References47

Introduction

The year 2004 marked the fiftieth year of the existence of the National Archives of Nigeria. A period of fifty years is a landmark in the life of an entity, individual or corporate. For an individual, it is a time to look back, reflect, give thanks for getting that far and look forward to the years ahead which, in most cases, may not be as long as the years gone by. For a corporate entity, whose existence may be in perpetuity, it is also a time to take stock and review past operations, reflect on the successes and failures of the past and map out strategies for the future. This was the position the National Archives of Nigeria, as an institution, founded on 1 April 2004.

Background

The political history of Nigeria is closely linked with the British colonial administration. In 1914, the entity now known as Nigeria came into existence with the amalgamation of the Northern and Southern Protectorates. Interestingly, the year 1914 also marked the beginning of concern by the Colonial Office for the state of public records in Nigeria. In that year, the Secretary of State for the Colonies sent a circular to the officer administering the Nigerian Government, Sir Frederick Lugard, requesting “a brief report as to the existing arrangements for the custody and preservation of the older official records of the government” and also advising that appropriate steps be taken to ensure “the safe-keeping and preservation of the documents in question” (Ukwu, 1995). The concern was not just for older records, as hope was also expressed that every care was being taken of more or less recent records required for official reference (Alegbeleye, 1995).

Subsequent dispatches were forwarded in 1929, 1936 (two in number) and 1948 all on the subject of preservation of official records of the Nigerian Government. In the dispatch of 16 October 1936, Mr Ormsby Gore, the then Colonial Secretary, particularly emphasized that “the preservation of its records in a satisfactory state must be regarded as one of the first duties of a colonial government a duty which derives greater urgency from ...