The Durban University of Technology co-hosted the 7th International Conference on Governance and Accountability (ICGA) at the Capital Zimbali Resort. DUT partnered with Malaysia’s Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) to host ICGA2022 as a hybrid event.
The conference commenced on Tuesday, 22 November 2022, with an exciting Opening Ceremony that included performances from the DUT Choir, who sang the national anthem of South Africa and the anthem of the African Union. The Malaysian national anthem was also recited. The opening ceremony also included a dance fusion performance by DUTs Drama Production Studies students, which delighted the audience.
ICGA2022, with the theme “Transformative Sustainable Performance,” aimed to bring together academics, researchers and research scholars from across the globe to exchange and share their experiences and research results on all aspects of Governance and Accountability. It was also to provide a premier interdisciplinary platform for researchers, practitioners and educators to present and discuss the most recent innovations, trends, and concerns, as well as practical challenges encountered and solutions adopted in the field of Governance and Accountability.
In attendance at the Opening Ceremony was the Executive Dean of the Faculty of Accounting, Professor Oludayo Olugbara, Senior Director of Corporate Affairs, Mr Alan Khan, HOD Management Accounting, Professor Swanepoel, HOD Auditing and Taxation, Dr Lulu Jali, Senior Lecturer in the School of Accounting, Economics and Finance at UKZN, Prof Bomi Nomlala, Professor of Accounting in Witwatersrand, Prof Warren Maroun, Professor Nirupa Padia, the Head of the School of Accountancy at the University of the Witwatersrand, Chief Operations Executive at the South African Institute of Professional Accountants; Dr Gavin Isaacs, Dr Asogan Moodley and a host of academics and industry specialists.
Corporate Affairs Senior Director, Mr Alan Khan, welcomed the delegates, speakers and sponsors to Durban and to KwaZulu-Natal as he proudly told attendees about the wonders and delights of our city and province. He congratulated DUT for being ranked in the Top Five of all South African universities in the 2023 Times Higher Education World University Rankings.
Khan introduced the Executive Dean of the Faculty of Accounting and Informatics, Prof Oludayo Olugbara, who officially welcomed all guests to ICGA2022.
“This monumental event promises to coagulate the tripartite network of researchers, practitioners and educators to share practical experiences, research results and to co-generate knowledge that is required to curb the multifaceted challenges of governance and accountability worldwide,” said Prof Olugbara.
He explained that this important event is taking place at a time when the world has become more interdependent because of globalisation, industrialisation and the brisk drive towards sustainable development.
He mentioned that ICGA2022 provides a leading interdisciplinary platform for strengthening the open tried relationship of researchers, practitioners and educators, to present innovative intelligence and to acquiescently engage to contribute to the socioeconomic challenges of governance and accountability, in order to improve the quality of human life.”
“This is a topical issue as many countries of the world are facing different socioeconomic challenges, including governance and leadership. It is well-known that fraud and corruption is a prevalent phrase when it comes to governance and public services provisioning”, said Prof Olugbara.
In addition, Prof Olugbara highlighted that he was fascinated by the profiles of the keynote speakers, panelists, and presenters drawn across the globe who will deliberate on motifs of accounting and its interconnected disciplines.
One of the highlights of the first day of the conference was the keynote address by Prof Mervyn King, who delivered an insightful speech that had the delegates enthralled. Prof King is best known as the Chairman of the King Committee on Corporate Governance in South Africa.
Prof King is Chair Emeritus of the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) in London and the Global Reporting Initiative in Amsterdam, a member of the Private Sector Advisory Group to the World Bank on Corporate Governance.
Prof King chaired the United Nations Committee of Eminent Persons on Governance and Oversight, was President of the Advertising Standards Authority for 15 years and has been a member of the ICC Court of Arbitration in Paris for seven years.
He is also a former judge of the Supreme Court of South Africa, an Honorary Professor at the Universities of Pretoria and Cape Town, and a Visiting Professor at Rhodes. Currently, he is a professor at the Wits Business School at the University of the Witwatersrand.
The conference proceeded with parallel sessions divided into three rooms that housed presentations in Management Accounting, Financial Accounting, Economics and Finance, Auditing and Governance, Taxation, Management, and Education, amongst others. Presenters were each given 20 minutes to present their research, each session had, on average five presenters, and at the end of the presentations, the delegates had the opportunity to pose questions to the presenters.
On the second day of the conference, Prof Warren Maroun gave the keynote address. Professor Maroun is a Professor of Accounting and Auditing at the University of the Witwatersrand, School of Accountancy. He delivered an insightful speech on “Sustainability Performance and Accounting: Insights, gaps and agenda for future Practice and Research” that fired up the audience and engaged and captivated them with his eloquent speaking skills. His speech provided insights, gaps and an agenda for future practice and research in accounting-related fields.
Pictured: Attendees at the 7th International Conference on Governance and Accountability (ICGA) at the Capital Zimbali Resort.
Dr Gavin Isaacs, the Chief Operations Executive, South African Institute of Professional Accountants, presented the topic: “Sustaining accountability in the accounting profession: The role of professional bodies” during the plenary session. Dr Isaacs ended his presentation with the quote, “Be the change we want to see.”
Following the plenary was a panel discussion facilitated by Dr Asogan Moodley under the topic: “Auditing- a driver of good organizational governance”.
The panelists, Haikel Ismail, Chief Internal Auditor, Group Internal Auditor at Telekom Malaysia Berhard and also the board of Governors of the Institute of the Internal Auditors Malaysia, joined the panel discussion online, also joining in were Ugen Moodley, Executive Director and the Managing Director at KPMG KwaZulu-Natal, Prof Job Dubihlela, Head of Department for Internal Auditing and Financial Information systems in the Faculty of Business and Management Sciences at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, and James Gourrah, Director and past chair of the board of the IIA South Africa.
Day two concluded with a celebratory gala dinner with delegates dressed in the Great Gatsby theme as live entertainers entertained them. The evening also celebrated authors that received awards for best papers.
Pictured: Professor Naicker, Ugeshni Moodley, Dr Ferina Marimuthu, Professor Kelum Jayasinghe and Prof Oludayo Olugbara, at the gala dinner.
Special guests for the evening were, Prof Kelum Jayasinghe from the University of Essex, Prof Sunday Ojo, an Honorary Research Professor from DUT coordinating the Carbon Literacy project and our International collaborators, Mr Chris Wilson and Ms Bee Gan from Sherfield Harlem University.
The Chairperson of the 2022 International Conference on Governance and Accountability, Dr Ferina Marimuthu, also the Head of Department for the Department of Financial Accounting at DUT, gave the welcome address at the gala evening.
She welcomed the guests of honour and other delegates. Dr Marimuthu said, “Conferences such as this one provide an opportunity to talk about common challenges, share best practices, and discuss groundbreaking scientific research and technology that will help our economies and the environment grow, adapt and innovate so they can meet the realities as well as the demands of tomorrow.”
Her welcome address was followed by a speech from their guest visitor Prof Jayasinghe. Prof Jayasinghe from the University of Essex is the Centre for Environment and Society director and chair in Accounting and Development Policy.
His academic career is complemented by a few years of industry work experience in Sri Lanka and many years of experience in knowledge-transfer activities with the public sector and trans-national organizations. He is currently the president of BAFA- Special Interest Group on Accounting and Finance in Emerging Economies (AFEE) and a member of BAFA’s Executive Committee; a technical committee member of the African Accounting and Finance Association (AAFA); and a founding member of the Executive Committee of Comparative Asia Africa Governmental Accounting (CAAGA) Group, based in Indonesia. “I am so happy and delighted that I chose to attend this prestigious conference, I am impressed with the conference standard as well as proceedings”, said Prof Jayasinghe.
The next speaker was Prof Ojo, an Honorary Research Professor at DUT who is currently coordinating the Carbon Literacy project. He delivered his speech highlighting how the project can tie in with the accounting cluster.
The ceremony proceeded with the announcement of the best paper awards, giving 1st, 2nd and 3rd prize best papers.
The 3rd prize award was presented to Dr Lorraine Muguto and Hilary Tinotenda Muguto from Durban University of Technology, with their paper titled, Responsible Investing- Is it worth it? Evidence from JSE.
The 2nd prize award was presented to Dr Seri Ayu Masuri Md Daud et al. from Malaysia, with her paper titled, Environmental disclosure trend among Malaysian plantation companies.
And the 1st prize best paper award went to authors Tiago Jardim, Thomas Gutmayer, Wayne Van Zijl and Warren Maroun from the University of Witwatersrand, with their paper titled, The true extent of the use of fair value within the financial statements.
On day three of the conference, giving the keynote address was Prof Tankiso Moloi, from the University of Johannesburg, delivering an astute speech on the topic: Reflecting on what the technologies of the fourth industrial revolution implies for corporate governance.
Prof Moloi said that we are standing in a brink of a technological revolution that will fundamentally alter the way we work, live and relate to one another. The transformation will unlike anything that humankind has experienced before, but “one thing is clear that the response to it must be integrated and comprehensive involving all stakeholders of the global polity from the public and private sectors to academia and civil society”.
A thought-provoking and insightful panel discussion with the topic: Navigating the publication process: Experience from established researchers and editors, facilitated by Dr Haruna Maama with panelists Prof Oludayo Olugbara, Prof Kelum Jayasinghe and Prof Warren Maroun. These speakers presented diverse perspectives on research issues and educated, inspired, and sparked the audience’s curiosity.
The conference concluded with a message from Prof Haslinda Yusoff, the Dean of the Faculty of Accountancy, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM). She warmly greeted all the delegates virtually from Malaysia.
She spoke of how COVID-19 has affected the entire world and how it has globally challenged us in our day-to-day life. On the economic front specifically, countries have had to come up with more robust policy measures related to governance and accountability to stabilize the economy and safeguard people’s livelihoods.
She added, “it is from this perspective that ICGA2022 has worked on the timely and relevant theme, Sustainable Transformative Performance. Over the past three days, this conference has showcased distinguished speakers who have shared their experiences, knowledge, and insights on issues pertinent to governance and accountability.”
“I hope that all of you have benefited in one way or another from the ideas that have been shared, deliberated, and debated on. I also hope that ICGA2022 has unveiled a unique opportunity for networking, as we must make.”
Giving the vote of thanks was Dr Anchal Ramsarghey, a lecturer in the Department of Financial Accounting at the Durban University of Technology. Dr Ramsarghey presented the Best Presenter Award to Timothy Speckman, who presented a paper titled: Internet of Things Governance Frameworks: A Literature Review.
She expressed her gratitude to everyone who supported the conference, the sponsors, and the delegates who attended in person and virtually across the countries.
“Thank you to all the speakers, the planning committee, and our delegates who took their time in their busy schedules to participate in this prestigious conference. May you all travel safely and have a beautiful year-end of 2022.”
As echoed by many delegates, the Chairperson of ICGA2022, Dr Marimuthu and the organising committee hosted a successful conference. The three-day event will be long remembered for its valuable presentations, engaging conversations and insightful deliberations at The Capital Zimbali Resort on KwaZulu-Natal’s famous Dolphin Coast.
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Pictured: ICGA committee members at the 7th International Conference on Governance and Accountability at the Capital Zimbali Resort.
Alan Khan/Siphokazi Dlamini
