FRCN to revisit suspended code of corporate governance
The Federal Government through the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN) said it is revisiting the suspended harmonised code of corporate governance and to come up with an exposure draft of the framework for discussion within the next six months.
The FRCN in line with the directive of the FG suspended the National Code of Corporate Governance (NCCG) last year.
“In terms of revisiting the code, the work has started; the board committee to supervise that work has been set up. They have had their first meeting and understanding the scope of work that needs to be done”, Daniel Asapokhai, executive director/CEO, FRCN said on Tuesday at the KPMG CFO forum held in Lagos.
Fielding question from journalists after the forum, Asapokhai said one of the first things they need to do is to set up a technical committee that will do a lot of detailed work around the code.
“I think it is within six months because a lot of work went into the suspended code already so we are hoping that they can speedily resolve a number of funny areas and re-expose. Yes I think within six months we should be at a position where we are exposing the document for consideration”, he said.
Speaking on the topic, ‘Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria – Strategic Direction and Priority Actions for the Near Term’, the FCRN CEO said the council has identified four key areas of focus. One of them is to work with primary regulators such as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Nigerian Pension Commission (PENCOM), National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), and Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC) among others, to help deal or push its agenda.
The council also identifies collaboration with Professional Accounting Organisations (PAOs), Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs), EFCC, anti-money laundry unit, among others.
It intends to work with Academic, industry, International Development Association (IDAs), Development Finance Institutions (DFIs), whole of government and private enforcements.
In his estimation, Asapokhai said the country does not have more than 60,000 professional and in terms of distribution, 55,000 of them are in Lagos.
Responding to a question on the number of professional accountants, he said, “What we are doing is commissioning a number of studies to look at that same question so we are a getting a number of academic teams that will look at how many accountants do we need to drive the economy. So we are hoping to get research based answers to that question. We will also look at distribution, the ones we have how are they distributed. Where are there shortages? The idea is at the end of the day is what do we need to do to ensure that in our major commercials centers we have the right number and quality of professional accounting skills. It is not only in accounting, we are also looking at actuaries”.
CREDIT:BUSINESS DAY