Africa-Press – Kenya. The Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya wants firms to adopt the Unique Document Identification Number (UDIN) system, to curb accounting fraud.
Officially launched yesterday, UDIN is a secure, mandatory 15-20 digit alphanumeric code generated by professional bodies for certificates, audit reports and financial documents to verify their authenticity.
It prevents fraud by ensuring only licensed professionals sign documents, with the move targeted at both public and private sector.
According to ICPAK, the technology-driven solution assigns every professional document a unique, verifiable identity—transforming trust from assumption to certainty.
“Through UDIN, every financial statement, every audit opinion and every professional output can be authenticated in real time. A simple code confirms legitimacy, or raises a red flag,” ICPAK chair Elizabeth Kalunda said during the launch, in Nairobi, yesterday.
She noted that the operating environment has become increasingly complex with increased demand for transparency, accountability and verifiable financial information. This includes from Senate’s County Public Accounts Committee (CPAC).
Reports from the Office of the Auditor-General also continue to highlight gaps in financial reporting—ranging from unsupported expenditures to inconsistencies.
More concerningly, she said, are instances where individuals signing financial statements cannot be verified as members of ICPAK.
“These quacks operate within our space, mislead clients, manipulate records and ultimately erode the credibility of an entire profession built over decades,” Kalunda noted.
ICPAK has over the years implemented a series of measures to safeguard the profession, including verification of credentials, strengthening of compliance and monitoring frameworks and enhanced quality assurance reviews.
It has also had continuous stakeholder education and the establishment of whistleblowing mechanisms to report malpractice.
However, there has been a challenge on the ability for any user of financial information to independently and instantly verify the authenticity of a document and the professional behind it, ICPAK says.
“The Unique Document Identification Number turns every audit report into a live, verifiable record linked to the practitioner, client and regulator. This is how we protect credibility in a digital era,” ICPAK chief executive Grace Kamau said.
The move is inspired by India’s successful UDIN framework, which has been adapted to the Kenyan context.
The platform which has been on a pilot phase, having started operating on October 1, 2025, has so far on boarded 415 firms out of an estimated 1,100 licensed firms—representing approximately 38 per cent adoption.
Within this time, 4,970 financial statements have been processed through the platform and over 2,168 users have actively verified financial documents using UDIN.
ICPAK vice chairman Benard Amukah said: “When a financial statement is signed by an unverifiable individual, one question arises: Who can the public trust? UDIN ensures that trust is no longer assumed but verified.”
