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A group of professional bodies in Ghana has held a closed door meeting with the Executive Secretary of the National Accreditation Board (NAB), Mr Kwame Dattey and his management team to explore areas of strengthening regulations and accreditation of the qualifications of professional bodies in the country, especially those without legal backing. The representatives of the professional bodies included the Executive Director of the Institute of Human Resource Management Practioners-Ghana (IHRMP), Mr Ebenezer Ofori Agbettor; the Executive Secretary of the Institute of Public Relations, Ghana (IPR), MR Joseph E. T. Dottey; the Chief Executive Officer of the Chartered Institute of Bankers-Ghana (CIB-GH), Mr Anthony Oppong and the Executive Director of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, Ghana (CIMG), Mr Kwabena Agyekum. The others were the Vice-President of the Charted Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT), Mr Ebo Hammond; and the Executive Secretary of the Ghana Institution of Engineers (GhIE), Mr K. Buckson. Regulation Mr Agbettor, the Coordinator of the Professional Bodies, speaking on behalf of the delegation, indicated that the group was determined to support both the government and its agencies to put in place the necessary legislative arrangements, structures and systems to enable professional bodies to regulate the various professions in Ghana as pertained in countries such as South Africa, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Zambia, UK and USA. He also said �presently, most of the professional bodies in Ghana are established under the Companies Code 1963 (Act 179) as a company limited by guarantee and registered under the Professional Bodies Registration Decree, 1973 (NRCD 143),� and stressed that �this position is limited in scope and authority, hence the difficulty to properly regulate the various professions in Ghana; thus giving room for �cowboys� to parade themselves as professionals to the detriment of the general public.� Mr Agbettor stated that the discussion with NAB also centred on the possibility of the Board upgrading to the status of an authority, where its mandate would not only cover tertiary institutions but also the professional bodies. This, he emphasised, is the model being used in South Africa and it is worth introducing it in Ghana to ensure sanity in the arena of professional bodies. �Ghana stands to gain in this arrangement as it will give impetus to professionalism which will invariably impact positively on the efficiency and effectiveness of professionals. Combination of academic and professional education is a good formula for excellence and career achievement,� he said.