The Global Chief Executive Of
ficer of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), Ms. Helen Brand, has said that the organisation will collaborate with PricewaterhouseCoopers Nigeria on key initiatives, including capacity building for the International Financial Reporting Standards, which is currently being adopted in Nigeria.
Brand, who is on a visit to PwC Nigeria as part of a week-long event in Nigeria, said that the ACCA and PwC were partnering to address the capacity deficit in the country’s accounting industry and improve the quality of corporate reporting.
A company statement quoted Brand as saying, “Both ACCA and PwC share common professional values, global presence, ethics and governance.”
She said, “This perhaps explains the desire to collaborate on key initiatives such as capacity building in IFRS which are currently being adopted in Nigeria. Both firms plan to jointly organise a series of events on IFRS for SMEs in collaboration with the International Accounting Standards Board.”
The statement also quoted PwC Nigeria Partner in charge of Tax and Corporate Advisory Services, Mr. Taiwo Oyedele, as saying that an effective and full adoption of IFRS in Nigeria would increase investment inflow into the country.
Oyedele, who is also a member of the ACCA Global Governing Council, stressed that it was vital for both global firms to partner to create the much needed capacity building and address the deficit.
He said, “In addition to removing some of the subjectivity from financial reporting, IFRS provides more consistent platform for recognition, measurement and disclosure of transactions and events in the financial statements, leading to greater transparency.
“This, in turn, will lead to increased investment in Nigeria. IFRS is not just about reporting; it is also about measuring business performance. It therefore means that investors and business managers must understand it as well as the accountants who will report it.”
Oyedele, who observed that many quoted companies in Nigeria were struggling in recent times to meet the deadline for their submission of IFRS-complaint financial records for the year ended 2012 as mandated by the Financial Reporting Council, stressed the need for increased capacity in the accounting practice in Nigeria.
ACCA is the global body for professional accountants offering business-relevant, first-choice qualifications to people.
PwC, according to the statement, is a global professional services firm providing advisory, audit and assurance and tax services. PwC is structured as a network of member firms, owned and operating locally in more than158 countries and 776 locations around the world with over 180,000 staff members and partners connected to share knowledge, skills and resources.