By Uche Onyekwelu, Enugu

With an instinct on content building/ enrichment and proactiveness the desire for hosting the 1ST International conference of Accountancy Department was born.

Like a seed planted on rich soil the Department’s desire to present an academic forum that will not just grow scholarship but expand the scope of collaborations between the gown and town was nurtured.

In their initial letter requesting for approval for the Conference having risen from the 1st Departmental Board of the year held in January 2024 where the board deligently x-rayed the imperatives of hosting a conference of this nature, the board rose in high hopes and unquencheable resolve to walk the talk towards actualization.

The Head of Accountancy Department, ESUT,
Professor Uche Lucy Onyekwelu provides insights on why the Department is hosting a maiden International Conference. Below are the excepts:

STEPS TO CONCRETISE THE CONFERENCE:

At the meeting held in January the Board rose with a resolution and mandated the Board Secretary to quickly make a letter proposing as agreed to the Management of ESUT through the Dean Faculty of Management Sciences, Professor Chioma Oleka.

The letter was quickly construed and forwarded to the appropriate authorities. To our utter amazement the authorities did not just welcome the idea but prayed for its massive success.

Thinking through the system the Academic Board of the Department was dissolved into committees with each of the committees led by Scholars with distinct flare for the each committees accorded them. There ship anchored and navigated through.

Committees thinkering and synergizing prompted up on unquenchable desire for accomplishments became rekindled that all that runs in the blood of the Academics, Non Teaching , Post Graduate and even the Undergraduate Students is the International Conference due in July 2nd & 3rd 2024.

KEY RESOURCE PERSONS TO LEAD THE DISCUSSIONS:

A close look at the Team to lead in the interactions in the Conference shows that the Department did not just source for who to talk but succeeded in getting the Square Pegs into the Square Holes.

You believe with me that when leaders and experts who thinkered out templates for policies and also saw through the implementations discuss issues your guess is as good as mine.

In the line up of these revered the Resource persons is The Diamond President of ICAN the respected Chief DSC Alaribe FCA shall deliver the first key- note address First Keynote Speech , followed by the Dr. Rabiu Olowo who is the Executive Secretary of Financial Reporting Council,the Apex body saddled with regulations of Financial Reporting in Nigeria. Our own dear Professor Uche Austin Nweze, PhD FCA FCTI JP Immediate Past Rector of IMT a widely travelled and content building academic will do us the 3rd keynote speech..

The Department has also sourced exceptionally quintessential scholars to enrich the contents of the discussion through Lead Paper presentations.While Dr. Friday Akpan FCNA, FCTI will pilot the ship of the Lead Paper Presenters.To cap it up the Lead and Coordinating Director of Financial Reporting Council Group propelling Sustainability Dr. Iheanyi Anyahara, FCA, FCTI will deliver another lead paper on Sustainability Reporting.

To show the true content of a conference that is multifaceted , Professor Mannixs Paul from the USA will be doing us a paper as a Guest Speaker with speciality in AI, Sustainability and Cyber Security.

From the above it is not in doubt at all that the Department of Accountancy working with its Topnotçh Planning Committee is sure set out to shake up the landscape of Intellectual discussions and content building through the Maiden International Conference.

QUEST FOR GETTING OTHERS ON BOARD:

The Department in its nature knew that it needs to congregate other global scholars to enable it achieve the much desired aroma of “International”. In that light a platform was created to accommodate all and most of everyone who had got anything to do with its members over the years in research and scholarship. For example the platform named 1ST International Conference Forum which I call “Conference before Conference” has ran for a month or so at moment. The essence of that platform is to basically stimulate awareness for the Maiden International Conference, accept concerns as well as resolve problem any impending challenges of scholars who intend to participate in the conference.

In that platform are congregated a lot of top notch academia/ industry as well as policy Makers who are interested in Research. The Congregation cuts across diverse Academic and Industry in Nig and diaspora.

Another platform was also created for the Alumni of this Department as critical stakeholders in the Department..

True to its purpose this platform have seen concerns shared and real time on line resolutions done.

To the Glory of God the Platform has received more than One Hundred and Twenty(120) papers with a good number of co-authors attached to each of the papers.

WHY CONFERENCE ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING NOW:

This Theme of the Conference has been adjudged topical by many scholars. As we talk a good number of resource persons still request to be accommodated in the scheme of things. Their desire is not out of place but reminiscent anyone who has found a gold and wish to be among those to commence sharing. To that extent we applaud and say big welcome to them. Indeed the Conference Committee shall work out modalities to accommodate and offer every desirous Resource persons opportunity to ventilate and diffuse the contents they bear for our intellectual enrichment..

To the specifics AI and Sustainability Reporting have got big roles to play in future or even future landscape defining Accounting Business Management, Social Sciences, Medicine , Agriculture , Law and every discipline.

The Department of Accountancy ESUT decided to embark on this very challenging venture not for anything but to help offer a timely , well articulated and enriching avenue to retool and upscale its members ( students and lecturers) as well as provide endless opportunities to knowledge cross- breeding with scholars from other institutions.

The Department is not oblivion of the fact that allowing the AI Concept to come on it without preparation could impact the endless potentialities of its human resources. So it decided to lead from the front in anchoring this programme. The Department is also quite hopeful that the contents scholars will bear after this will go a long way in assisting them expand their abilities of intellectual thinking and upscale its problems solving potentials..

The Department also hopes that the conference will navigate its members and other lecturers, Postgraduates and undergraduates adaptations through the synergies expected through conference.

PREPARATIONS SO FAR:

The Department has accomplished a lot through its earlier constituted communities. the Committees are still working tirelessly to see that all knots and bolts are properly fixed. For example a team of the Planning Committee comprising the HOD, Professor Oliver Ike Inyiama, Chairman Planning Committee and the Co-Chairman Planning Assoc. Prof Ike Ezeugwu were at Urban Radio yesterday where they further elucidated on the Imperative of the forthcoming conference and why every scholar must be part of it.

We therefore pray all those that have submitted papers or indicated interest to make it a date with History.

The place of AI and Sustainability Reporting cannot be over emphasized.

The future belongs to those who prepare to meet opportunities.

1ST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF DEPT OF ACCOUNTANCY ESUT:

A MUST ATTEND!!!

Professor Uche Lucy Onyekwelu, PhD
Head of Department, Accountancy