Rising from its national conference, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) has been tasked to continuously supplement its syllabi with emerging trends, such as developments in sustainability and technology to ensure that the profession does not lag in transformations.
In a communiqué signed by Mallam Tijani Musa Isa, 58th President of ICAN and Professor Ahmed Modu Kumshe, Registrar/Chief Executive, ICAN at the end of the 52nd annual accountant conference with the theme “Nigeria: Adopting Sustainability for Economic Prosperity”
The delegate also urged the Institute to continue to liaise with the National Universities Commission (NUC), the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) and other regulatory bodies in the education sector, to incorporate future developments into the curricula of the accounting departments.
It also urged the Institute to collaborate with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), National Council on Climate Change (NCCC), and other relevant stakeholders and specialized institutions, to facilitate public awareness and better understanding and appreciation of the specific design features of the Climate Change Act 2021, to further Nigeria’s climate change ambition.
On Sustainability Reporting and the Green Economy, the delegates supported the growing call for Public Sector Entities in Nigeria to also include sustainability activities in their reports.
It also acknowledged that early adoption of the International Sustainability Reporting Standards is instrumental to unlocking the flow of capital into Nigeria for an effective transition to a sustainability-based economy.
The delegate also urged the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN) to ensure that Nigeria is an early adopter of the International Sustainability Reporting Standards by working closely with relevant stakeholders and the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) toward seamless and effective adoption.
It suggested that in adopting the International Sustainability Reporting Standards, the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN) should ensure a proportional and scalable framework that will enhance the effective inclusion of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), similar to the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) for SMEs.
“In terms of economic growth and development, the adoption of sustainability practices is the current direction of travel, as it determines the flow of new and mobile factors of production. “Considering her significantly youthful population and access to abundant natural resources, Nigeria is well positioned to attract this new investment that is needed for the next wave of economic prosperity. Therefore, to build a prosperous nation, all enterprises in Nigeria, including the public sector must embed sustainability practices in all their activities,” the communiqué states.
