Financial Reporting Council, IoD Collaborate On Corporate Governance For Public Sector

The Executive Secretary of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN), Ambassador Shuaibu Adamu Ahmed, has disclosed that the council is developing a code of corporate governance for the Nigerian public sector and nonprofit organisations in the country.

Ahmed made the disclosure yesterday in Lagos when he welcomed a delegation of the Institute of Directors (IoD) Nigeria who paid a courtesy visit to the FRCN.

He said: “We are working to develop Nigeria Code of Corporate Governance for the public sector and nonprofit organisations. We are expecting support from the IoD, which developed corporate governance for the private sector.

“In the past a lot of emphasis was on the private sector that we have not done much in the public sector arena. The public sector, of course, is the biggest player in the economy and there will be vacuum if we do not do something about corporate governance in the public sector.

“We are hoping that the technical working groups will be constituted before the end of this first quarter. There will be two working groups: one for nonprofits and one for public sector.”

Ahmed also expressed optimism that the FRCN’s amendment bill would be passed soon to give the council more powers and financial wherewithal to carry out its duties.

He said that “right now we have a lot of constraints in terms of staff and capacity. Last year, the jump in filing from previous years was quite enormous because we moved toward more enforcement.

Ahmed told the delegation, which was led by the President and Chairman of the Governing Council of the IoD, Nigeria, Dr. Ije Jidenma (F.IoD), that the FRCN is its achievements and called for deeper collaboration between the institute and the council.

“There is need for collaboration between the IoD and the FRCN on corporate governance. We share the same objective, which is to promote corporate governance in the Nigerian economy both in the public and private sectors. There is need for us to have much more collaboration. I seize this opportunity to appeal to the governing council for us to work together first in quarterly training and capacity building,” he said.

Jidenma, who welcomed the call for deepened collaboration with the FRCN, said that “the FRCN and IoD Nigeria are partners in progress and our objectives are similar. We are both concerned about good corporate governance and best practice in Nigeria’s public, private and not for profit sectors for a better society. The need for collaboration and complementarily, therefore, cannot be overemphasised.”

She added that “much goodwill exist between our two organisations. We appreciate the recognition accorded to IoD Nigeria as a professional body, whose members are approved to sign annual reports of companies in Nigeria. I am proud to assure you that our institute will continue to advance professionalism and adherence to good corporate governance principles by its members. Through well-structured periodic capacity development programmes, we ensure that they are abreast with best practices and are keyed into continuous improvement.

“The IoD Nigeria sees the FRCN as a critical partner in its quest to improve the professional capacity and competence of directors and business leaders.”