Daily Times

The Institute of Cost & Management Accountants of Pakistan (ICMAP) has approved the meeting attendance fee of the government nominated members on its National Council upto rupees 75,000 despite the dissenting note in this regard, Daily Times has learnt.

Sources privy to development informed that the NC members up to BPS 20 will receive Rs 50,000 thousand while members above than BPS 20 will receive Rs 75,000 per meeting.

They alleged that this was an effort by the ICMAP President to obtain favour of the government nominated members in the bid to conceal the alleged financial irregularities and corruption done by him in the institute.

“It has also been confided that a question is also being moved in the National Assembly and Upper House regarding alleged malpractices and financial irregularities by the ICMAP high ups,” they said and added that no feasibility report was prepared before procurement process and no valuation of land was done which was strange especially from such an institute which is producing cost and management accountants.

“The ICMAP administration also violated PPRA Rules and payments were made without the approval of competent forum i.e., National Council,” they continued.

Talking to Daily Times, former president and currently member of NC Iqbal Ghauri said that there was no example in the history of the institute to make payment of meeting fee despite of this fact that it is an educational accounting body.

Sources privy to development informed that the NC members up to BPS 20 will receive Rs 50,000 thousand while members above than BPS 20 will receive Rs 75,000 per meeting

“There are also another accounting body called as ICAP but it is not paying any fee at all to any member in the name of meeting fee,” he said adding that the financial conditions of ICMAP was also not as good to spare a huge amount for the attendees of the meeting.

However, the ICMAP Executive Director Aamir Ijaz Khan said the decision was made after the approval of the national council’s members. On a question, he replied that financial conditions of the ICMAP were much better.

It is worth mentioning that the ICMAP was established in 1951 and given statutory status under CMA Act 1966 to promote and regulate the profession of Management Accounting in Pakistan.

In 2013, ICMAP purchased a piece of land for Faisalabad Campus at a cost of around Rs 100 million. Nevertheless, circles closely watching this development raised doubts terming the whole procurement process as doubtful and suspicious.

A case was also lodged with the FIA in September 2017 after submission of Inquiry/Facts finding Report but that case is still pending. Sources said that the latest development for payment of meeting participation fee out of proportion can be a bid to win favour of the government nominated members to snub the case permanently.

Published in Daily Times, January 28^th 2019.