Addis Abeba — The Business Ethics network of Africa(BEN- Africa) today started a thre-day annual conference here in Addis Ababa to address issues of promoting business ethics.

The 7th annual conference will also address the issues of corporate governance, whistle-blowing, integrity, social responsibility, ethics and globalization, and African values in business.

A number of speakers drawn from Ethiopia, Nigeria, US, Australia, South Africa and Kenya would be among 60 or so participants to talk about how to improve business ethics in Africa, the network said in a statement.

The conference came to Addis Ababa up on the invitation of Professor Johannes Kinfu, a longwstanding member4 of BEN-Africa, according to the statement.

Previous conferences were held in countries like Ghana, Zambia, Zanzibar, Botswana and South Africa, the statement added.

Professor Piet naude, ethics professor at the nelson Mandela Business School in South Africa, and current president of Ben-Africa explained the role of the networkin bringing together business people, professionals, academics, and government officials to discuss matters of ethics and good governance in Africa.

"It is of utmost importance that Africans themselves take responsibility for the image of the continent amongst national and international investors. The riches of this continent-material as well as human resources - must benefit the continent and its peoples. That is why accountable governance in the public and private sectors are so important.", he said in the statement.

In a separate statement sent to The Daily Monitor yesterday, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants(ACCA)-Ethiopia ffice announced that it endorses the conference for it believes it is important for finance professionals and business people to discuss issues of ethics.

"We have a specific interest in professionalism and ethics as we have positioned them at the heart of our new qualification, and have added significantly to the ethical requirements placed on students and members throughout their working carriers," ACCA country Manager Hikmet Abdella.

According to the statement, Sundeep Takwari, ACCA's head of the ethics and regulations, will be tackling the subject of professional ethics for accountants on day three of the conference.