Business
Council Charges Firms On IFRS
Chief Executive Officers of companies in the country have been urged to embrace the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) by investing in relevant trainings that will make the framework a success.
The charge was given by Executive Secretary of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRC), Mr. Jim Obazee, during an executive briefing on IFRS for CEOs and top management officers of companies in Lagos, recently.
He identified IFRS as an important aspect of global financial reporting, stating that local accounting practices are no longer adequate for the financial system.
“In recent times a number of Nigerian companies have raised capital from international stock markets; others have established significant presence in other jurisdictions. Also a good number of Nigerian entities hold the securities of non-Nigerian issuers.
“Therefore, for a better understanding and appreciation of the risks and making decisions about the flow of economic capital, it makes sense that financial statements prepared in the country use the global financial reporting benchmarks”, he said.
Obazee encouraged the CEOs and other top management staff of companies to make use of the facilities provided by the FRC in broadening knowledge of the standards.
According to him, the roadmap for adoption of IFRS in Nigeria specifies that publicly listed entities and significant public interest entities are to prepare their financial statements using applicable IFRS by January 1, 2012 while other public interest entities were expected to mandatorily adopt IFRS for statutory purposes in January this year.
The third phase of adoption mandates Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) to adopt IFRS as January 1, 2014 for the year ended December 31, 2014.