Malcom Furber, the Global President of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, has called on Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) members in the country to mentor young professionals in order to ensure a succession of well-groomed business leaders.

“It is important for CIMA professionals in the country to mentor young professionals. Professionals must also make use of the network of CIMA members to continually upgrade their skills and to share knowledge on best practices,” he said.

“One of the areas that we have picked up in our research is that there is shortage of skills. We are talking about the harder skills like finance, banking and engineering. People tend to take the easy way out in the social science and others.”

Mr. Furber was speaking to the B&FT after conferring with management of McOttley Capital, an investment firm based in Accra, during an official visit to Ghana.

He assured of more continuous support for members on the continent and in particular Ghana. ”I was here five years ago and saw the potential here. We then decided to open an office here. We will put more resources here and build the skills of professionals.”

Mr. Kwesi Livingstone, Chief Executive Officer of McOttley Capital said it is important for accounting professionals to add value to their organisations by blending the accounting practice with entrepreneurial, customers service, marketing and strategic planning skills.

“Mentoring young professionals and students is important and McOttley Capital has made it an integral part of the company’s policy to mentor young Ghanaians,” Mr. Livingstone said.

CIMA is the world’s largest and leading professional body of management accountants. The organisation has more than 218,000 members and students operating in 177 countries.

Members work at the heart of business in industry, commerce and not for profit organisations.