A former President of the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria, Dr Samuel Nzekwe, has asked the Federal Government to inaugurate the Board of Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria without delay to evolve strategies for the council.
Nzekwe said in a statement made available to our correspondent on Wednesday that the delay in constituting the board had left the council usurping the statutory responsibilities of the board.
“The council currently is usurping the statutory powers of the board by taking far-reaching decisions which ought to have been taken by the board,’’ Nzekwe said.
He added that it was part of the responsibility of the board to ensure that the council and its directorate achieved high level of accountability and transparency.
He said, “There is the need for the board to set the budget of the council, secure the necessary funding and monitor the council’s expenditures. It is also the responsibility of the board to appoint directors and other senior management staff of the council.”
Nzekwe added that the board should also oversee the performance of the executive through regular reports from the chief executive officer of the council.
He said, “Without the board, how would the council function efficiently as there would be no checks and balances? To function efficiently and achieve the very objective for which the council was established, the board should be inaugurated without delay.”
The former ANAN boss said the council would not be able to issue any new standard without the board.
According to him, even though Nigeria has adopted wholesale the International Financial Reporting Standards, there must be a board to authorise the new standards.
He said, “Both foreign and local investors will not take anything coming from the council seriously, because the board is not in existence. Some of the decisions the council had taken would be null and void due to the absence of a board.”
He, however, said the board should consist of a chairman who must be a professional accountant; and two representatives each from both ANAN and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria.
He said, “There should be one representative each from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation; Office of the Auditor–General of the Federation; Central Bank of Nigeria; and the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers. There should also be a representative each from the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria; Corporate Affairs Commission; Federal Inland Revenue Service; and Federal Ministry of Commerce.
“The rest should be representatives of Federal Ministry of Finance; Nigerian Accounting Association; Nigerian Association of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture; and Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation. Members of the board will also be drawn from the Nigerian Institute of Estate Surveyors and Valuers; and the Securities and Exchange Commission.”