FRC to unveil roadmap report on sustainability disclosure

The Financial Reporting Council has stated its readiness to launch the roadmap report for the adoption of the International Financial Reporting Standards one and two in two weeks.

The Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of the council, Dr Rabiu Olowo, stated this during a signing ceremony with the Nigeria Integrated Reporting Committee on Friday in Abuja.

According to Investopedia, IFRS is set of accounting rules for the financial statements of public companies that are intended to make them consistent, transparent, and easily comparable around the world.

IFRS S1 standards are designed to facilitate disclosures from entities, as part of their general‑purpose financial reports, about sustainability risks and opportunities, while IFRS S2 standards encourage companies to disclose information about how an entity manages potential negative effects of climate change.

He said, “This could not have come at a better time considering the fact that the roadmap report for the adoption of the IFRS S1 and S2 will be launched on March 22, 2024, just precisely two weeks during the visit of Mr Emmanuel Faber, Chair, ISSB and his team to Nigeria as part of his three-nation African tour.”

Recall that Nigeria through the council declared its intent to early adopt the International Sustainability Standards Board standards at CoP 27 in Egypt in 2022 and followed the declaration by setting up the Adoption Readiness Working Group, hosted the launch of IFRS S1 and S2 in collaboration with the NGX Regulations Ltd on June 26, 2023, and issued the Roadmap report for 2 comments on February 1, 2024, demonstrate the determination to lead in this endeavour.

Continuing, Olowo stated that the agreement was one of the critical steps the Financial Reporting Council is taking towards ensuring effective and seamless implementation of sustainability reporting in Nigeria.

The FRC boss also emphasised that the council, driven by digitisation, operational excellence, stakeholder engagement, and enforcement agenda, is committed to fulfilling its mandate adding that the strategic approach is expected to elevate FRC to new heights, unlocking capital for the country and subsequently fostering employment opportunities.

He stated, “This event today is to demonstrate the commitment of the Council to ensure adequate and comprehensive advocacy to herald effective corporate behavioural change that will drive the sustainability reporting in Nigeria.

“In line with the statutory provision of the FRC Act 2011 as amended, which empowers the Council to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding towards the achievement of her mandate, we could not have gotten a better partner for our advocacy drive than the Nigeria Integrated Reporting Committee, an independent forerunner in the corporate reporting journey.”

Speaking in his address, the NIRC chairman, Dr Innocent Okwuosa said it is truly delightful to witness another milestone in Nigeria’s journey towards implementing sustainability reporting.

“This event signifies our country’s strong commitment to adopting sustainability reporting, and it’s a testament to the dedicated efforts put forth by the Nigerian Integrated Committee.

“I would like to take this opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to ensuring that the agendas and work programmes we have established are effectively realized. We will collaborate closely with the FRC to ensure the actualisation of these goals,” he said.