Relevant news, solid opinion pieces and great expositions to touch lives

By Julius Opuni Asamoah (BSc, MBA, CA) An efficient financial sector provides the rudiments for income-growth and job creation. This means that the financial sector plays a significant role in economic development. Any financial system that is not effectively regulated runs the risk of creating weak financial institutions. Indeed, if we so wish to ensure the stability of the banking sector, then the supervisory framework of Bank of Ghana (BoG) including ensuring well capitalised institutions, reliable and adequate information, a good legal framework with adequate enforcement provisions, transparency and disclosure requirements, needs to be enforced. Additionally, BoG should ensure effective risk management systems in banks, adoption of a risk based approach to supervision, good corporate governance practices, strict anti-money laundering regulations, and the adherence to sound ethical principles. Many economic crises in history have been the result of financial crises, and many...

🚩The International Fund for Agricultural Development, (IFAD), has approved a request of US$20 million for Ghana’s food production. The amount is also to help to deal with emergencies that may arise following the COVID-19 pandemic, Agric Minister Dr. Owusu Afriyie-Akoto, has revealed at a press briefing on Thursday April 23, adding that the funds will available in a week or two. “The target is to take agric growth to a double digit of 10% in the next two to three years,” he said. Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto also outlined a raft of measures being rolled out ahead of the upcoming planting season. They include market surveillance, where market prices and food availability on the markets are monitored; provision of PPE for Extension Agents, development of guidelines for production, public education through video and print and facilitating inputs distribution. 🚩The Bank of Ghana has recently instructed banks in Ghana not to pay dividends to shareholders for the 2019 and 2020 financial yea...

As I was lying in bed early this morning around 6:30 am to 7:00am after joining a group to pray, I was partly asleep and in a trance, I caught a vision in the spirit where I saw the spirit of God lift me to Qodesh Lighthouse Chapel at North Kaneshie, the whole place was well arranged and service was about to start. I saw plain light colourless curtains hanging all over the auditorium and strands of partitions that divided the chairs. There was earnest preparation to start service (you know the feeling you get when you arrive at church early before service actually starts, yes that was the feeling in the vision ) and before I could say jack in the spirit I had appeared in the auditorium of International Central Gospel Church with chairs nicely arranged with same partitions and service going on. In both churches I saw myself seated and facing the pulpit and in serious earnest expectation. I then woke up and decided to pen down the vision. It was so real and that is when I knew God has...

By Julius Opuni Asamoah (BSc, MBA, CA) In an increasingly multifaceted business environment, characterised by fluidity, diversity and plurality of all forms, managers find themselves faced with dilemmas of different options and opinions. An ability to think critically becomes essential for managers in their endeavours to find solutions and navigate turbulences. However, as a discipline, critical thinking has not been given due attention as an essential tool of organisational management. Critical thinkers who have good decision-making skills are essential to organisations who aspire to be forward thinkers and successful. When organisations ignore the importance of including critical thinkers as a part of the organisation, new ideas may not emerge, current processes may not be challenged and changes may not occur. A higher order of thinking is often cited for employee hiring, as well as what is within the organisation. Critical thinking provides managers with knowledge and skills...

By Julius Opuni Asamoah (BSc, MBA, CA) When we talk about board of directors, we are referring to an elected group of individuals that represent shareholders in a company. The board is a governing body that typically meets at regular intervals to set policies for corporate management and oversight. In Ghana, both public and private companies are mandated to have board of directors. In the generic sense, the board of every company makes decisions as a fiduciary on behalf of the shareholders. Issues that fall under a board's purview include the hiring and firing of senior executives, dividend policies, options policies, and executive compensation. In addition to those duties, a board of directors is responsible for helping the company set broad goals, support executive duties, and ensure that the company has adequate and well-managed resources at its disposal. Conceptualising what board of directors do is a bit complex, exacerbated by the ongoing evolution of a board’s legal d...

By Julius Opuni Asamoah (BSc MBA CA) On the eve of 1st January 2020, a number of people especially church congregants, converged, prayed and wished better fortunes in Year 2020 than what transpired in Year 2019, as well as the years beneath. However, at the beginning of this year, 2020, a new influenza epidemic that emerged in China has kept on spreading and spiralling across the globe. This new influenza strain, referred to as coronavirus, and its disease, “COVID-19”, has symptoms including fevers, coughs, shortness of breath, aches, sore throat and vomiting, which seem to appear between two and 14 days after being exposed to the virus. As a respiratory illness, the severity for patients up to date ranged from a mild cold in the younger population to very severe symptoms that can lead to death, especially among the frail and aged. COVID-19,  commonly  known  as  the  Coronavirus,  is  a  severe  public  health  emergency for...

By Julius Opuni Asamoah (BSc MBA CA) It is bestowed on companies and organisations to keep financial records and report on their financial performance to their shareholders and stakeholders. All over the world, businesses and all other organisations face the problem of fraudulent activities in their financial activities and dealings, which can take many forms. Due to the numerous accounting scandals, confidence in the reliability and the objectivity of financial statements of interested parties has been significantly reduced. Management, board of directors, audit committees, external auditors and internal auditors have a significant role in ensuring reliable financial reporting. The primary responsibility for the prevention and detection of fraud rests with both, those charged with governance of the entity and management. Members of management are responsible for evaluating and managing company’s business risks, including the risk of the financial reporting fraud, implementing an...