ASSOCIATION OF NATIONAL ACCOUNTANTS OF NIGERIA

18TH NATIONAL CONFERENCE ABUJA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE CENTRE, ABUJA

4TH-7TH NOVEMBER, 2013

THEME OF CONFERENCE: DEEPENING FINANCIAL SECTOR DEVELOPMENT:

THE CONTRIBUTION OF PROFESSIONAL ACCOUNTANTS

COMMUNIQUÉ

Preamble 1. The 18th Annual conference of the Association of National

Accountants of Nigeria held between 4th and 7th November, 2013 at the Abuja International Conference Centre deliberated on the theme deepening financial sector development: the contribution of professional accountants, with the following sub-themes: The impact of corruption on sustainable economic reforms Driving Nigeria’s economic transformation: the role of

central Bank of Nigeria. Accounting regulation and economic transformation. The challenges of capital market regulations.

2. The keynote address was delivered on the theme by Mr. Eamonn Siggins, CEO, Institute of Certified Public Accountants in Ireland while papers on the sub-themes were presented by distinguished scholars.

2©2013, ASSOCIATION OF NATIONAL ACCOUNTANTS OF NIGERIA

ObservationsAt the end of the deliberations, the conference observed that:

3. The challenge of redressing the core problems of poverty, ignorance and disease is at the root of economic transformation.

4. infrastructure, corruption and access to finance are key challenges to Nigeria economic transformation.

5. sustainable economic development is bedeviled with corruption and entrenched inefficiency in the third world countries thereby resulting in mass unemployment, instability and violence which hinder development.

6. Nigeria’s growth acceleration in recent years has not been associated with economic development in terms of more jobs and better life for the people. 3

©2013, ASSOCIATION OF NATIONAL ACCOUNTANTS OF NIGERIA

Observations7. the Nigerian economy is largely natural resource and

primary commodity-driven as agriculture and crude oil production dominate the GDP with manufacturing sector stagnating.

8. CBN has driven the Nigeria’s economic transformation through financial sector reforms and financial sector contribution to the real economy.

9. financial crisis brought regulatory and corporate governance issues to the front burner as it exposed weaknesses of the regulatory and supervisory framework of countries.

10.the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) Act 2011 and the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria are economic transformation instruments that can enhance the roles of Professional Accounting Organizations (PAOs).

4©2013, ASSOCIATION OF NATIONAL ACCOUNTANTS OF NIGERIA

Observations11.the limited knowledge of IFRS and IPSAS poses serious

challenge to regulators, public companies, external auditors and PAOs.

12.despite the contribution of PAOs to improving global economic performance, they have not been carried along in the reform agenda.

13.PAOs can significantly contribute to improving global economic performance through the implementation of the International Financial Reporting Standards, International Education Standards, International Auditing Standards, and International Ethics Standards (IES).

14.despite the fact that more than 95% of enterprises across the world are SMES accounting for more than 60% of private sector employment, Small and Medium Practitioners (SMPs) have not given them adequate attention.

15.PAOs are key to the conception and implementation of government reforms. 5

©2013, ASSOCIATION OF NATIONAL ACCOUNTANTS OF NIGERIA

Observations16.the limited knowledge of IFRS and IPSAS poses serious

challenge to regulators, public companies, external auditors and PAOs.

17.despite the contribution of PAOs to improving global economic performance, they have not carried along in the reform agenda.

18.PAOs can significantly contribute to improving global economic performance through the implementation of the IFRS, IES, IAS, and International Ethics Standards (IES).

19.despite the fact that more than 95% of enterprises across the world are SMES accounting for more than 60% of private sector employment, Small and Medium Practitioners (SMPs) have not given them adequate attention.

20.PAOs are key to the conception and implementation of government reforms.

6©2013, ASSOCIATION OF NATIONAL ACCOUNTANTS OF NIGERIA

Observations21.the adoption and implementation of financial reporting

standards are areas where the roles of PAOs are most needed.

22.corruption is a major threat to humanity, cancerous to individuals and the economy, and central to the failure of governance.

23.good governance, accountability, good financial management and transparency are principal pillars in the acceleration of economic development.

24.high quality corporate reporting is key to improving transparency, facilitating the mobilization of domestic and international investment, thus deepening the financial sector development.

25.sustainable economic reforms in Nigeria is yet to attain its desired expectations.

7©2013, ASSOCIATION OF NATIONAL ACCOUNTANTS OF NIGERIA

RecommendationsThe following recommendations, arising from the observations were made at the conference:

1. There is need for the government to transform and restructure the economy to create more wealth, reduce poverty, minimize inequalities, strengthen productive capacities, enhance social conditions of Nigerians and consequently attain sustainable development.

2.Government should improve the enterprise climate, regulatory environment and global competitiveness with infrastructure and access to financing to enable businesses contribute to improve economic performance.

8©2013, ASSOCIATION OF NATIONAL ACCOUNTANTS OF NIGERIA

Recommendations3.Government at all levels should take responsibility to

ensure accountability and transparency in governance by addressing the challenges of prudency and budget implementation towards actualizing the transformation agenda.

4.Sanctions and criminal penalties for corrupt practices should be handled decisively and expediently by relevant agencies of government in Nigeria to serve as deterrence to potential offenders.

5.Executive, legislative and judicial collaboration should be engendered in public interest to prevent corruption from weakening the dividends of economic transformation in Nigeria.

9©2013, ASSOCIATION OF NATIONAL ACCOUNTANTS OF NIGERIA

Recommendations6.Government at all level should imbibe economic

discipline, policy consistency, and improve the credibility of regulators and stakeholders in the economy.

7.PAOs should proactively support SMEs through SMPs and develop mechanisms that are targeted toward SMEs to encourage their involvement in the economic transformation.

8.PAOs should strengthen corporate governance mechanisms and discharge their responsibilities efficiently to other stakeholders.

9.PAOs should regularly lobby and advocate for improvement in fiscal management based on informed judgement evidence from research survey.

10©2013, ASSOCIATION OF NATIONAL ACCOUNTANTS OF NIGERIA

Recommendations10.PAOs membership operating in the private and

public sector organizations are a resource that should be harnessed through strengthening of monitoring mechanisms of their ethical conducts and performance for the benefit of global economy.

11.PAOs should promote high quality financial reporting disclosure to provide more relevant information for making sound investment decisions and risk assessment by educating their members to bridge the knowledge-gap in financial reporting standards.

11©2013, ASSOCIATION OF NATIONAL ACCOUNTANTS OF NIGERIA