Following is the address delivered by minister of Finance and and Social Security, the Hon. Victor Banks at the opening of the Regional IFRS workshop in Anguilla last week.

It is my duty and pleasure as Minister of Finance in the Government of Anguilla to deliver this brief Address at the opening of the Regional IFRS Workshop for Social Security Institutions. I suppose that the organizers might have invited me to do so in that capacity (as Minister of Finance) because of the relevance of appropriate financial reporting standards to the effective functioning of our financial systems.

Hon. Victor Banks

But I suspect that my invitation was probably more due to my ministerial responsibility for the subject of Social Security. After all, I have been Minister for Social Security for half of the 26 years during which our social security system has been operational, and my involvement actually goes back to the beginnings when, as I am wont to say, “I was in the trenches” promoting the System for the people of Anguilla after the Social Security Act was passed under the leadership of the “Father of the Anguillian Nation” Mr. Ronald Webster on November 3rd 1980. So I am well-qualified to say that the Social Security System is the “single most important institution for the economic security of our people,” and congratulate the Chairman and Members of the Board, and the Director and Staff as you celebrate Social Security Week – just as you do every year at this time.
As Minister of Social Security, and Minister of Tourism, I welcome participants from regional social security systems and applaud your Boards and Directors for recognizing the importance of their Systems adopting and following the international financial reporting standards (IFRS’s) and for organizing this very timely workshop. While I have no claim to accounting expertise, it is easy to appreciate the benefits of convergence among accounting standards, not least of which will be consistency of financial reporting. This will help the social security systems in their corporate governance function as they strive to exhibit transparency, accountability and integrity. The trust and respect of all stakeholders – employees, customers, our communities and the general public - are assets that cannot be purchased and can only be sustained through our continued vigilance. Maintaining the highest governance and ethical standards is the only way Caribbean Social Security Systems can preserve, and grow, these crucial relationships.
But even as I speak to the need for Social Security Systems to adopt these international standards in their reporting to their constituents, I am aware that these systems do not exist in a vacuum. They relate to other institutions: they receive contributions from businesses, they deposit funds with banks, they invest in government securities and companies both within the country and outside the country and, without doubt, they are a major part of the country’s financial system.

Therefore, as Minister of Finance, and particularly at a time of global financial crisis, when prices have risen and public confidence has waned, when banking liquidities have tightened, and when market capitalization has contracted, I also welcome this workshop. To take from the quote from Fermin del Valle written in the Workshop Programme, “we are at a time when convergence plays an important role, and the use of commonly accepted international standards worldwide is being recognized by everyone as a true need, as something that will contribute significantly to the proper functioning of the financial and the capital markets, and consequently will improve the world’s growth and stability.” These standards have gained influence, thanks to a number of factors: the rise of multinational corporations; the growth of global capital markets; increased international economic interdependence; more foreign direct investment; the growth of multinational political organizations, specifically the European Union; and, perhaps the most powerful factor of all, the ensuing reduced costs of cross border financial transparency for owners, creditors, preparers, analysts and the general public. I commend the Anguilla Social Security Board for extending an invitation to some of the public entities here in Anguilla to take advantage of this training opportunity, and trust that those of you who represent those entities here will take full advantage of the opportunity.
Finally, I wish to commend Mr. Claudel Romney, Senior Partner of KPMG, and Dr. Robertine Chaderton for agreeing to conduct this workshop, with the support of the Inter American Conference on Social Security (CISS), and of course the Anguilla Social Security Board for being the hosts. I notice Dr. Chaderton will be doing double-duty, delivering the Social Security Lecture this evening. This must be a demonstration of her passion. To our visitors, you are fortunate to be here at a
HISTORIC TIME WHEN OBAMA has just been ELECTED PRESIDENT AND A time when Anguilla hosts the Tranquility Jazz Festival, so in addition to seeing and enjoying our fabulous beaches and other attractions, please enjoy the Jazz – “straight ahead, no chaser.”
I trust that you will have a very productive three days, and take pleasure in declaring this IFRS Workshop open!

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