Basil L. (Lascelles) Sands CMG FCCA (1929 – 2018) was born in Clarence Town, Long Island to the late Ronald George Sands and Nora Leonie Sands (née Major). His mother was a housewife, and his father was a telegraphist. He was the second of seven children. Illustrious Sands enjoyed a long and storied career in business in various areas, but most especially in the financial services sector. He began his working career in the Public Service as a teacher and a Customs Officer. He joined The Nassau Guardian in 1952 as a reporter and journalist. In 1958, he joined the firm of Sir Robert McAlpine & Sons (Bahamas) Ltd., where he became their accountant after being admitted as a member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) of the United Kingdom in 1965. He became a Fellow of the ACCA in 1974. A trailblazer, who has always exhibited strong leadership traits that would follow him throughout his professional, civic, and masonic career, he was a founding principal of his own accounting firm—Turner, Sands & Co in 1970. As happens for many firms, growth and expansion influences the partnership makeup. The name of the firm was later changed to Sands, Wallace & Co. Later, his growing firm joined the international accounting firm of Pannell Kerr Forster. Its name was later changed to PKF International and then to PKF Bahamas. He served the firm as its Managing Partner. During those early years he also found the time to create, with several others, the
Bahamas Chartered Accountants (BICA) in August 1971. This was a culmination of 6 years of progressive discussions to that end. He served as its first president from 1971 through 1976. He helped to steer BICA into regulating and governing the accounting industry in the Bahamas through lobbying for the passage of The Public Accountants Act in July 1991. Institute of As a Chartered Accountant, Illustrious Sands served as a director of various corporate and charitable boards no doubt due to the business acumen displayed and professional relationships developed over the years. Previous directorships included serving as one of the four founding Directors of the Central Bank of The Bahamas from 1974 through 1976; as a Director of Barclays Finance Corporation Ltd. and a member of the Advisory Committee of Barclays Bank International; as Director of the Bahamas Electricity Corporation; as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Bahamasair Holdings Limited from 2002 through 2007; and as Chairman of Bahamas Supermarkets Limited in 2009. In 2007, he was appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors of BAF Financial and Insurance (Bahamas) serving as the Chairman until his passing. An avid Anglican, and member of St. George ’ s Parish, he served as treasurer of the Anglican Diocese of The Bahamas & Turks & Caicos Islands for more for more than 20 years, beginning in 1981, and was bestowed the title of Treasurer Emeritus. He rendered past service as a member of
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