Thursday, July 31, 2025
28.3 C
Lagos

Adeosun:‘Commitment to Accountability, Transparency Non-Negotiable’

The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun has challenged members of the accounting profession to join forces with the current administration in its bid to promote accountability and transparency in governance.

The Minister gave the charge on the day two of the 46th Annual Accountants Conference organized by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) in Abuja on Tuesday.

The theme of the conference is Accountability. Now, Nigeria, and it was attended by dignitaries including the Vice President, Mr. Yemi Osinbajo, Gombe State Governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo, Ogun State Governor, Senator IbikunleAmosun and former Governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi, among others.

The Minister explained that the accounting body now has greater roles to play in the current dispensation, saying that the era when accountants just offered suggestions was over.

The Minister stated, “When things go wrong in the private sector, it affects just one company, but when things go wrong in the public sector, it affects the whole nation and that is why we must raise the bar for public financial management.

“The days when ICAN stayed in the background are gone. That is why I’m challenging ICAN to move from the background to the forefront. We need more accountants at all tiers of government and I think they have a very big role to play.”

She disclosed that the finance ministry under her watch has begun capacity building for the nation’s accountants by ensuring that larger firms partner with smaller and medium scale firms for any assignment.

“We need to build capacity within the smaller and medium-sized practices. In the Ministry of Finance, we have resolved that a large firm must partner with smaller firms for any assignment and the practice has started.”

She stated that one of the measures put in place by the current administration was to ensure that the nation’s public finance management was better enhanced. According to her, a lot of lessons have been learnt from past mistakes; hence the implementation of a set of robust public finances management policies.

“One of the things we have done since we came to the office was to ensure that our public finance management is better enhanced. We didn’t really have early warning signals from where we were headed. I think if we had better data, we wouldn’t be here today.”

The Federal Government of Nigeria was one of the few countries without risk based independent internal audit. We started with the Presidential Initiative on Continuous Audit. On assuming office, we found there were little controls, no audit and no reconciliation.

These are the basic tools for reconciling expenditure with payroll. As a, result, we found thousands of payroll entries of people who are not supposed to be there.  We therefore have to move the Presidential Initiative on Continuous Audit into formal independent-risk based internal audit.

We also set up the Efficiency Unit and I have to thank ICAN for its support. We have been able to drive down our costs considerably. The savings are creating head room clearly needed to be invested to fund capital projects which will grow the economy,” the Minister stated.

spot_img
spot_img
spot_img

Hot this week

Two NCDMB Leaders Bag Doctorate Degrees at UNIPORT Convocation

Two senior officials of the Nigerian Content Development and...

Sovereign Trust Insurance Reports 109% Insurance Revenue Growth in 2024

Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc recently released its 2024 audited...

NAICOM Issues Guidelines for Insurtech Operations Effective Aug 1

The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has officially issued operational...

Leadway Assurance: Official Insurance Partner of Lagos International Trade Fair 2025

L–R: Juliet Okon, Head, Alternative Channel and High Net-worth...

NNPCL: Port Harcourt Refinery Not for Sale

Group CEO, NNPC Limited, Engr. Bashir Bayo Ojulari addressing...

Topics

Onyema, NSE CEO, Now Associate Member of CIS

The Chief Executive Officer of The Nigerian Stock Exchange...

Banks, Telecoms, Mobility Brands Dominate Q1 2025 Media Performance Charts

Following the Central Bank of Nigeria’s directive to harmonize...

Ingenico Partners Interswitch on Multi-channel Payment Solutions in Nigeria

Ingenico Group, the global leader in seamless payment, announced...

Renmoney Partners Freshworks on Better Customer Engagement

Renmoney one of Nigeria’s leading fintech companies, has deployed Freshworks customer engagement...

NEXIM, World Bank Collaborate to Develop Nigeria’s Mining Sector

…The clear intention of The World Bank to collaborate with the NEXIM Bank towards a structured intervention in the Nigeria’s solid minerals sector is quite expedient. More so, with commitment and firm resolve of President Muhammad Buhari to diversify the economy, revitalize the mining sector towards boosting job creation and enhancing foreign exchange earnings - Orya The Managing Director of the Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM Bank), Mr. Roberts Ungwaga Orya, received a team from the World Bank led by Dr. Francisco Igualada, Senior Mining Specialist, Energy & Extractives Unit, and Mr. Linus Adie Utsu of Mining Investments Consultthat visited the Bank to share ideas on how to provide structured intervention towards revamping and deepening Nigeria’s mining sector.

Why 2023 Population Census Must Be Postponed  

By Michael Owhoko, Ph.D Without prejudice to extent of preparations,...

Linkage Assurance Hosts NCRIB Lagos Area Committee on Feb. 11

Daniel Braie MD/CEO Linkage Assurance Plc Underwriting firm, Linkage Assurance Plc will...

Peace Akhibi Wins 2021 NYSC Essay Competition

By Fabian Ekeruche Miss Peace Akhibi, a Corps member serving...
spot_img

Related Articles

Popular Categories

spot_imgspot_img