Accountants to be Educated on New Companies Act

In order to adequately prepare accountants for the implementation of the Companies Act 2004 in January, the Office of the Registrar of Companies (ORC) will participate in a seminar to be hosted by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Jamaica (ICAJ) this Saturday, October 30 at the Jamaica Conference Centre, downtown Kingston.

The seminar is just one of several such meetings in which the ORC will participate with members of various interest groups to educate them on the new legislation and the expanded role of the ORC.

Judith Ramlogan-Chong, Chief Executive Officer and Registrar at the ORC said that accountants were integral to the implementation of the Act, as they were one of the professional groups that assisted companies to be compliant with their statutory obligations under the Act.

Topics for discussion at the workshop include: new processes and procedures at the ORC; management and administration of companies under the new Act from a regulatory perspective; management and administration of companies from the director’s point-of-view; capitalization and share issues; accounting and auditing procedures; and the role of the company secretary.

The five-hour long seminar will give accountants the opportunity to receive some amount of training for accreditation purposes, Mrs. Ramlogan-Chong said.

She added that though the seminar was geared toward members of the ICAJ, non-members and other interested persons were welcome.

The cost for attending the seminar is $3,250.00 for members of the ICAJ and $4,900.00 for non-members. The CEO pointed out that several seminars were being organized which would be geared towards the training of other professional groups such as attorneys-at-law, company directors and officers.

The Companies Act was ratified in the Senate in March this year and aims to enhance the environment within which businesses in Jamaica operate.

Leader of Government Business in the Senate, Senator Burchell Whitemen had said that the updated Act would contribute significantly to the development of businesses, facilitate local and international investments, support industry and enhance the quality of life that Jamaicans enjoyed.

He also said that the provisions of the Act were necessary to facilitate the country’s participation in the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME). The new Companies Act will be implemented by the ORC.