by Y. Diene, Senegal, January 1998
THEME = ECONOMY
The various individual accounting systems
existing within
the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA)
have now been abolished and replaced by
the West African Accounting System (SYSCOA)
On 1 January 1998, SYSCOA became the official accounting system for a number of businesses within the eight UEMOA member-states. An important and decisive landmark has been reached, because the new regional accounting system is henceforth going to play its full role in accelerating the development and integration process of member-states.
A ruling concerning accounting law has been communicated to all concerned, by UEMOA's Economic and Finance Ministers, plus a publication: "Standard Accounting Practices for Businesses", co-edited by the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) and the publishing house CEDA.
SYSCOA is a reference framework, covering both the bookkeeping and the legal aspects of accounting. It does away with a number of existing bookkeeping practices and systems. It obliges all businesses (except those which use a public finance system, such as banks, financial institutions and insurance companies) to follow the same accounting method.
SYSCOA incorporates a body of accounting rules adapted to the economic realities and the present level of managing businesses in the sub-region - an area which includes Burkina Faso, Mali, Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, Niger and Togo. SYSCOA has been introduced so as to finalise the "packaging" of what must become an attractive business focusing point and a place for encouraging investment.
SYSCOA aims at standardizing accounting systems so that all information concerning accounting, can be harmonized within UEMOA. The Organisation for the Laws concerning Business Affairs in Africa (OHADA) has given definite guidelines. The new accounting system standardizes the different bookkeeping procedures existing in each member-state. Economic and monetary experts will share a meaningful and concrete database, giving statistical details and monetary flows as recorded by businesses within the region.
The draft agreement for this new reference framework was brought before UEMOA's Council of Ministers for the first time in 1993. But it was only finally approved during the 20 December ministerial meeting. Until then, there were as many different accounting methods as there are countries in UEMOA, even if all had based themselves on the French accounting system. SYSCOA now looks as if it will be of particular importance for the region's future.
SYSCOA was one of the many domains entrusted to the BCEAO, which had been mandated by UEMOA's heads of state, to speed up the integration of regional stock exchanges dealing with securities, stocks and bonds; also to collate the various regional laws governing accountancy, securities, stocks and bonds, the taxing of savings, investments etc.
In each domain, the BCEAO first consulted and then brought together into working groups, experts from the public and private sectors and from the academic world. The "Standard Accounting Practices for Businesses" mentioned above, was worked on for 31 months, with the help of 133 professional experts. Then the French firm, SERVANT, developed the software, SYSCOA, for those businesses which had computerised their management techniques and accounts.
After SYSCOA's official launching on 25 April 1996, the BCEAO undertook to prepare a more simplified version of the accounting system. Information meetings were held in each of UEMOA's capitals for company managers, management controllers, internal auditors, financial directors, so as to interest them in the new system. Training and updating sessions were also organised.
1. SYSCOA's implementation and follow-up will be taken in hand by the West African Accounts Council and the Permanent Council of Accountancy. In each country, SYSCOA will be supervised by each National Accounts Council and by each National Association of Specialist Accountants and by approved management centres.
2. A common accounting office will be established at the BCEAO so as to centralise individual companies' balance sheets. Every business must file their financial statements there, so that public, private and institutional investors can have access to all the information concerning the ups and downs of securities, stocks and bonds dealt with at the regional stock exchange. Also, SYSCOA integrates the financial year with the civil year, thus doing away with the option which was offered to certain businesses to close their accounts on 30 July each year. From now on, all businesses must close their accounts on 31 December each year with the option of a prolongation until 30 July the following year, so that their accounts may be approved at the companies' Annual General Meeting.
3. No matter the size of the business concerned, accounts must be well-kept. Old accounting systems omitted all reference to one-man or family-run businesses developing within the informal sector of the economy. These must now keep accounts. With this in mind, three schema for accountancy have been drawn up, depending on the businesses' turnover:
- a "Standard System" for all businesses having an annual turnover exceeding 150 million CFA francs. Businesses of this size must prepare an information booklet explaining how the accounts are to be prepared. Also, when presenting the accounts a comparison must be made with previous years' results.
- a "Simplified System" for businesses having an annual turnover of between 50 to 150 million CFA francs.
- a "Minimal System" showing the cash flow when the annual turnover is less than 50 million CFA francs. This is designed especially for the one-man or family-run businesses mentioned above.
4. The re-training of many professional accountants and financiers, so that they know how to work the new accounting system. Also, accountancy courses in schools and universities, must be standardized, hence the importance of teaching the SYSCOA system.
By way of conclusion: West African countries have now fallen into line with international accounting rules and regulations and use a single accounting system. Everything was carefully prepared for this important step. There is still one problem to be solved: many firms have computerised accounting systems - computers will have to be adjusted so that SYSCOA's programme can be downloaded.
One thing is certain. Unity within UEMOA states is getting ever- stronger and this is having a positive influence within CFA franc zone countries. There lies a reason for future hope.
END
PeaceLink 1998 - Reproduction authorised, with usual acknowledgement