The Nation Newspaper

Category: Money

  • ICAN chief to lead 500 accountants to Ghana confab

    The President, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Mr Doyin Owolabi, will lead a delegation of about 500 chartered accountants to the Second African Congress of Accountants (ACOA) holding in Ghana between 13 and 17.

    The congress is being organised by the Pan African Federation of Accountants (PAFA) and hosted by the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Ghana (ICAG) in collaboration with ICAN.

    In a statement, ICAN said the congress whose theme is, Africa’s economic growth, accountability and democracy, will explore issues related to key areas that directly and indirectly affect the accountants’role in economic growth, accountability and democracy through seminars, workshop and exhibitions.

    Apart from the theme of the congress, advanced topics and issues affecting today’s dynamic business landscape, such as the implications of implementing IFRS, strengthening financial markets and institutions in Africa, shaping the accounting profession on the continent, promoting the growth of SMPs, building capacity of SMPs etc, will be discussed.

     

  • Food import bill hits N170b in six years

    Food import bill hits N170b in six years

    Dependence on imported foods has been on the increase, with N170.2 billion spent in six years, according to a report by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

    It showed that as growth slowed, output became increasingly inadequate to meet rising demand for food and industrial raw materials.

    Consequently, the country became food import dependent, with rising import bills, which accelerated from N89.9 million in 1961 to N3.3 billion during 1981 to 1990; N62.7 billion in 1991 to 2000 and N170.2 billion in 2001 to 2006.

    At the continental level, the World Bank report, tagged, Africa Can Help Feed Africa, says the continent would generate an extra $20 billion in yearly earnings if its leaders can agree to dismantle trade barriers that blunt more regional dynamism.

    The World Bank said with many African farmers effectively cut off from the high-yield seeds, and the affordable fertiliser and pesticides needed to expand their crop production, the continent has turned to foreign imports to meet its growing needs in staple foods.

    “Africa has the ability to grow and deliver good quality food to put on the dinner tables of the continent’s families. However, this potential is not being realised because farmers face more trade barriers in getting their food to market than anywhere else in the world.

    Too often borders get in the way of getting food to homes and communities which are struggling with too little to eat,” Makhtar Diop, World Bank Vice President for Africa said.

    The report urges African leaders to improve trade so that food can move more freely between countries and from fertile areas to those where communities are suffering food shortages. “The World Bank expects demand for food in Africa to double by 2020 as people increasingly leave the countryside and move to the continent’s cities,” it said. It said countries south of the Sahara, could significantly boost their food trade over the next several years to manage the deadly impact of worsening drought, rising food prices, rapid population growth, and volatile weather patterns.

    It said Africa’s production of staple foods is worth at least $50 billion a year. The World Bank report said Africa’s farmers can potentially grow enough food to feed the continent and avert future food crises if countries remove cross-border restrictions on the food trade within the region.

    The new report suggests that if the continent’s leaders can embrace more dynamic inter-regional trade, Africa’s farmers, the majority of whom are women, could potentially meet the continent’s rising demand and benefit from a major growth opportunity. It would also create more jobs in services such as distribution, while reducing poverty and cutting back on expensive food imports.

     

  • Skye Bank to deploy more PoS outside Lagos

    Skye Bank to deploy more PoS outside Lagos

    Skye Bank Plc has concluded plans to deploy 8,000 Point-of-Sale (PoS) terminals in states covered by the second phase of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN’s) cash-less policy. This is in addition to 7,000 PoS already deployed in Lagos bringing the total number to 15,000.

    The CBN had announced that by July, the cash-less policy would be extended to Ogun, Anambra, Rivers, Abia states and the Federal Capital Territory after a successful pilot test in Lagos State.

    In a statement, the Group Head, e-Channels, Skye Bank Plc, Mrs Chuks Iku, said to ensure the success of the exercise, branches of the bank in Kano and the FCT have been trained and had consequently started customer education in relation to how PoS could be used, providing product knowledge and creating awareness about the policy and other payment channels. He said the awareness exercise would start in the other states ahead of the roll out.

    He said the bank’s staff in the states, which would be covered under the second phase, are undergoing training to ensure that they treat customers’ issues proactively and professionally to make the exercise a success.

    He listed some benefits of the new cash-less policy to include safety of transactions, convenient payment arrangement, security and flexibility, saying it would boost trade and commerce. Iku urged members of the public in those states not to resist the cash-less policy but embrace it as its benefits are numerous. According to him, carrying cash has become very dangerous and unsafe.

     

  • ‘Nigeria’s environment tough for foreign investors’

    Nigeria’s business environment is a difficult terrain for foreign investors, despite its long-term potential as an investment destination, a new report published by Oxford Business Group (OBG) has said.

    OBG Editor-in-Chief Andrew Jeffreys said Nigeria is a complicated country for a foreign investor to enter because of its problematic infrastructure, competitive labour force, and sizable supply of feedstock, among other factors.

    Regional Editor Robert Tashima said although Nigeria had a way to go before it supplanted South Africa as the continent’s biggest economy, the slow and steady reform of the country’s infrastructural bottlenecks, such as electricity generation, had helped improve the medium- and long-term outlook for its industrial and service sectors.

    “Oil and gas may still dominate, but fields such as manufacturing, telecommunications and finance are playing an increasingly prominent role,” he said.

    He said the risk in Nigeria is no small thing and that short-term returns were hard to come by, but the country’s structural fundamentals, such as a large consumer market and labour pool, a sizable supply of industrial input, accessible liquidity and a wealth of natural resources mean the potential for long-term growth is immense.

    He said the government’s plans for economic growth and development over the short- and medium-term are ambitious, with targets to surpass South Africa as the continent’s largest economy in the coming years and a bid to become one of the world’s 20 largest economies by 2020. However, there are still some obstacles which must be overcome to make that happen, including poor infrastructure, insufficient job creation, and a dependency on oil and gas revenues.

    The report also explores some developments taking place in the country’s utilities sector, where the planned privatisation of several state-owned power companies has been subject to a number of setbacks. It looks at the drag poor electricity supply has on broader output, along with the benefits which private sector participation, if successful, could bring in the coming years, including improved distribution infrastructure.

    The report also provides detailed coverage of moves to expand Nigeria’s tertiary sector, including telecommunications — where a new policy is hoped to spur spending on broadband infrastructure —as well as financial services, which have continued to make sustained progress following the domestic banking crisis in 2009.

     

  • FAAC allocations, T-Bills’ sales reduce inter-bank rate

    FAAC allocations, T-Bills’ sales reduce inter-bank rate

    Inter-bank rate declined by 104 basis points last week due to increased market liquidity from the monthly Federation Accounts and Allocation Committee (FAAC) injection and treasury bills (T-Bills) repayment. About N217.98 billion treasury bills were repaid last Thursday, in addition to over N200 billion monthly statutory funds injected the previous day, bringing total inflow to the market to N417 billion.

    Olakunle Ezun, Currencies Analyst, Ecobank Nigeria, said the call and overnight and seven -day money market rates fell to 10.3 per cent and 10.7 per cent. The three-month Nigeria Inter-Bank Offered Rate (NIBOR) fell to 11.5 per cent, though less activities were done on the tenor. The interbank secured lending (Open Buy Back) also fell to 10.25 per cent for banks and discount houses.

    Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) liquidity management remained active and supported by the circular issued last August reviewing its guidelines for how banks access its Standing Lending Facility window and Wholesale Dutch Auction System (WDAS) foreign exchange auction and CBN’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decision to hold the rate unchanged at 12 per cent on March 19, 2013. With market liquidity of about N191 billion last Friday, CBN might continue its liquidity management to ensure price stability.

     

    NDIC

     

    The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has called for the establishment of an investor protection scheme to protect the interest of small investors in the capital market and to boost public confidence among the investing public.

    NDIC Managing Director, Umaru Ibrahim, spoke when he hosted the Executive Council of Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS) in his office in Abuja.

    He said the scheme is imperative to the development of a stable capital market, adding that the corporation has been advocating a framework for the Investor and Small Insurance Policy Holder Protection Schemes in collaboration with the International Association of Deposit Insurers (IADI) study group.

    The NDIC Chief Executive also lamented the over-concentration of stock-broking firms in certain parts of the country, saying this does not augur well for financial inclusion. He therefore advised the institute to mobilise resources for securing licences to spread such opportunities to other parts of the country. He further suggested that in line with Agent Banking model by the CBN, the institute could engage the services of some agents in various parts of the country to reach out to small investors.

    He also reiterated the need for partnership with the Institute in capacity building, particularly with the corporation’s bank examiners to acquire more skills in capital market operations which would assist them in conducting consolidated risk-based supervision.

     

    FBN Fund

     

    The FBN Money Market Fund, managed by FBN Capital Asset Management, has been assigned “Aa(f)” rating by Nigeria’s foremost research, credit rating and risk management company, Agusto & Co in its first quarter rating result.

    In the report published on its website, rating firm said the evaluation comes less than a year after the Fund was launched. It said the Fund is deemed to have “minimal to low risk of investment loss due to net asset value volatility”. According to the report, the rating is supported by good credit quality of underlying assets. All investments must have a minimum ‘A’ rating and at least 25 per cent of net assets are invested in short term Federal Government Securities.

    “The Fund has conservative investment guidelines with respect to interest rate risk. All investments mature within 365 days, with a maximum weighted average maturity of 90 days. The portfolio manager is well qualified, with over 13 years of liquidity and investment management experience,” it said.

    The Managing Director of FBN Capital Asset Management, Michael Oyebola expressed satisfaction with the rating saying his firm has created a balanced suite of mutual fund products which are accessible to varying levels of investors.

     

    ICAN

     

    The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) has given 795 members its Fellowship award. Speaking at the weekend after the conferment of the award on the recipients, ICAN President, Adedoyin Owolabi, said the accountants attained the status between January 1, 2003 and March 31, 2013.

    “As a professional Institute, we have every reason today to celebrate the attainment of this special status by these award recipients. This conferment is the highest professional status that can be attained by any member of the prestigious accountancy profession worldwide,” he said.

    He said the conferment is in line with global practice and means that recipient has demonstrated professional knowledge, skills and excellence in the discharge of their duties.

    He added that the recipients were expected to continue to exhibit an unwavering commitment to ethical values of accountability, transparency, honesty and integrity as espoused by the profession and the institute.

     

    Forex demand

     

    Foreign Exchange (Forex) demand by authorised dealers consisting of the Wholesale Dutch Auction System (WDAS) and Bureau De Change (BDC) operators dropped to $4.29 billion in the fourth quarter of last year, CBN External Sector Development Report, has said.

    The report said the 34.2 per cent decline, when compared with third quarter performance and 59.4 per cent when compared with the levels recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2011.

    The report also showed that dollar has continued to dominate external reserves as the currency constituted 84.3 per cent of the $43.83 billion reserves as at December 31, 2012. The figure represents an increase of $3.15 billion compared with its level of $33.81 billion in third quarter.

    Other currencies in the basket included; Euro (5.9 per cent), Chinese Yuan (1.9 per cent), GB Pounds (1.9 per cent) and SDR (5.9 per cent). A review of the management of external reserves revealed that the portfolio was composed of fixed deposits (48.6 per cent), funds under Asset Management (20.1 per cent), Joint Venture Company cash call (0.1 per cent) and current account (6.3 per cent) as well as Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) (2.3 per cent).

     

    Taxation

     

    The stability and growth of world economies will depend on their adaptation of efficient and effective tax policies, President Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) Sunday Femi Jegede has said.

    Speaking ahead of the 15th Annual Tax conference holding from May 7 to 11 at the Tinapa Lakeside Hotel, Calabar, Cross River State, the CITN boss explained that how tax revenues are generated and spent by different levels of government should be of utmost concern to civil society groups, local communities and entire population. He said such awareness would help put the needed checks that will bring lasting development to the people.

    He explained that the conference with theme: Global stability, revenue generation and economic growth, will serve as unique opportunity for participants to interact with tax administrators and policy makers that will be attending from different parts of the continent and globally.

    He said the conference is being organised by CITN. The lead paper will be presented by Niger State Governor, Dr Muazu Babangida Aliyu while Acting Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Alhaji Kabir Mohammed Mashi will be Chairman of one of the sessions.

    Also expected at the event is Akwa Ibom State Governor, Godswill Akpabio as Special guest at the Gala Nite and his Cross River State counterpart, Liyel Imoke, as Special guest at the opening ceremony.

    Also to attend is the immediate past President of West African Union of Tax Institutes (WAUTI), Prince Kunle ‘Quadri and other stakeholders in Nigeria’s tax administration as well as representatives from the academic community. Professor Akin Oyebode of the University of Lagos will be one of the discussants.

     

    Corruption

     

    Forensic expert, Mr Steven Powell, has urged accountants to work toward getting Nigeria out of the list of corrupt nations. Powell, who is the Managing Director of ENS Forensics Limited, South Africa, spoke at the Fifth Convocation Lecture of the Nigerian College of Accountancy (NCA), Jos, a Postgraduate Accountancy College owned by the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN). “My challenge to you is to get Nigeria away from the list adding that accountants have practical roles to play in the future of the country as Nigeria being perceived as a highly-corrupt nation,” he said.

    Powell said the association is happy about the upcoming whistle blowing legislation in Nigeria. “In Nigeria, people are so scared to come forward and blow the whistle. Staff should be courageous to come forward with information without fear. When dealing with organised crime syndicates, if the whistle blower’s identity is disclosed, his life is in danger. But if the identity is not disclosed, is hard to get the whistle blower and his life is safer,” the forensic expert said.

    He urged accountants to report fraudulent practices to the law enforcement agencies, adding that accountants should also be vigilant. “Make sure your organisation adopts the necessary control measures as an auditor. Do not look the other way, act with honesty and integrity. Powell suggested that there was need to change people’s lifestyles. He urged the post-graduate students to pursue careers in Forensics which he described as rewarding,” he advised.

     

    DMO

     

    The Debt Management Office (DMO) last week at its monthly auction of bonds raised N104.8 billion ($670 million).

    Based on FBN Capital report, the DMO tentatively offered Nigeria’s long bond in February to raise just N15 billion and may have been surprised by the bid of N79 billion for the paper.

    It said the total sales target is higher than its projection given that the agency had raised N285 billion (gross) in just three months and that the approved 2013 budget sets domestic borrowing (net) at N577 billion.

    “The auctions in the past year have generated demand comfortably above projected sales, a rare exception being September. Many offshore investors may favour the longer dated treasury bills but few, if any liquid government bond markets match the yields available in Nigeria. Also, the shift by domestic institutional investors from bonds to equities has not been dramatic,” it said.

    It said the market rally since last August is driven by tight monetary policy is not exhausted, and that yields on the more liquid bonds may narrow by 100 basis points in the first half of the year.

     

    MasterCard

     

    MasterCard Inc., which is under pressure from France to cut card payment fees, said European consumers are increasingly using credit and debit cards for purchases, dismissing the region’s sovereign debt crisis, Bloomberg report has said.

    “Our business in Europe has been growing really well. The sovereign debt issue isn’t affecting consumer confidence in the way that it might,” Ann Cairns, president of international markets at the company, said in an interview in Dubai.

    MasterCard Inc said it is expanding even as Europe’s financial crisis enters unprecedented territory after Euro-area finance ministers agreed to a tax on Cypriot bank deposits at the weekend.

     

    IFC

     

    The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has said it is working with Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) to build a collateral registry system that will make it easier for banks to lend to Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs).

    Speaking at the SME Toolkit Global Partner conference held in Lagos, IFC, Nigeria Country Manager, Solomon Quaynor, said the corporation has realised that banks do not want high risk transactions, synonymous with lending to SMEs.

    He said the corporation is also partnering with 10 local banks to de-risk lending to the subsector. He said the SME Toolkit launched in the country by IFC, IBM and EDC Pan African University, will enable the entrepreneurs to effectively manage their businesses. He, therefore, said the IFC has stepped in to de-risk such loans by providing financial infrastructure and developing collateral registry that will assist banks in lending to the subsector.

    Quaynor said since a lot of the SMEs do not have landed assets, except receivables, IFC is working with Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Ministry of Trade and Investment to build a registry system that should include the ability of SMEs to borrow from banks.

     

  • Skye Bank targets 15,000 PoS

    Skye Bank Plc has concluded plans to deploy 8,000 Point of Sale (PoS) terminals in states covered by the second phase of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) cashless policy. This is in addition to 7,000 PoS already deployed in Lagos being the total figure to 15,000.

    The CBN recently announced that by July, the cash-less policy would be extended to Ogun, Anambra, Rivers, Abia states and the Federal Capital Territory after a successful pilot test in Lagos State.

    In a statement, Group Head, e-Channels, Skye Bank Plc, Mr Chuks Iku, said that to ensure the success of the exercise, branches of the bank in Kano and Abuja have been trained and had consequently commenced customer education in relation to how PoS could be used, providing product knowledge and creating awareness about the policy and other payment channels. He said the awareness exercise would commence in the other states ahead of the roll out.

     

     

     

  • BPP saves N420b in 15 months

    Director-General of Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Emeka Ezeh, has said the agency has reduced the cost of contracts in Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) by over N420 billion in the last in 15 months.

    Speaking at the opening of a retreat for chief executive officers in Federal Government ministries, departments and agencies at the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON), in Topo Badagry in Lagos at the weekend, Eze said the bureau will continue to ensure that there is transparency in the bidding process for contracts in Nigeria, even as all competent contractors will be given a level playing field to demonstrate their capacity to deliver.

    He explained that the BPP will continue to work hard to ensure the cost doing business in Nigeria is reduced through the elimination of multiple registration and pre- qualification as well as tendering that should be increased to give chance for equal competence and capabilities.

    Eze said the bureau has gone far in the registration, classification and categorisation of contractors and consultants working or intending to work on Federal Government projects.

    This he said is covered in the Public Procurement Act 2007, which expects the bureau to maintain a national data base of the particulars of Federal contractors and service providers for ease of information sourcing, and analysis in conformity with the needs of the new Information Age. He said: ” Public officials are now also beginning to see public funds as monies to be spent with care, and with high sense of responsibility. Added to these gains are a resultant improved budget implementation and performance in terms of project delivery.”

    He said as the programme develops, the cost of doing business in Nigeria would be reduced through the elimination of multiple registration and pre-qualification and the tendering process should increase at the end of the day, coupled with the better grouping of contractors, consultants and service providers of equal competence and capacities.

     

  • Okonjo-Iweala: skilled workforce to drive Vision 20:2020

    Nigeria needs skilled workforce to stimulate the economy to achieve the Federal Government’s Vision 20:2020 Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has said.

    Speaking in Lagos during a three-day orientation for interns under the Graduate Internship Scheme (GIS), supporting the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P) project, she said such feat would make the country become among the biggest 20 economies in the world by 2020.

    Okonjo-Iweala, who was represented by Project Director of GIS, Peter Papka, said the agency was established by the Ministry of Finance as part of the SURE-P, and is expected to prepare young job seekers between 18 and 40 years, for the work environment before they are employed.

    Papka said Okonjo-Iweala, would by month-end, hold meetings with International Oil Companies (IOCs), banks, telecoms operators and other leading private sector businesses on how to galvanise the economy through job creation. He said similar meeting would be held with Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs), which have capacity to create over 40 per cent of Nigeria’s job requirment.

    Aremu O., also from the Finance Ministry, explained that the GIS provides graduates with quality temporary work experience to make them stronger candidates for job openings in the labour market.

    Such experience, he said, would also boost their chances of becoming self-employed. “The scheme will improve job placement opportunities for graduates by providing them with the opportunity to acquire professional skills, training, and work experience through a one-year internship placement,” he said.

    He said though the exercise is a short-term measure, GIS has high prospects for job creation, improve the welfare of youths and achieve the inclusive growth objective of Federal Government’s transformation agenda.

    He said during the period of internship, the Federal Government will be responsible for paying a monthly stipend to the interns while the participating institutions/firms would be expected to provide adequate opportunities for training and mentoring the interns.

    He said the GIS is targeting up to 50,000 graduate interns yearly. He said the Project Implementation Unit (PIU) is based in the Federal Ministry of Finance and is responsible for administration and management of the GIS.

    “The process of selection is not competitive, as the Federal PIU would like to give an opportunity to all private/public firms to take part in this national intervention,” he said. He said the orientation exercise is aimed at preparing hired interns for the working environment and skills acquisition. Such, he said, would also guide partnering firms and interns on the GIS, especially on their roles and responsibilities.

    The GIS, which started in 2012 to create opportunity for graduates to be attached to organisations, where they can work for a year and enjoy a monthly stipend of N18,000. Such interns can use the opportunity to gain working experience and enhance their employability. The project has started registration of such firms and over 83,000 beneficiaries have been registered. This is beyond the threshold of 50,000 allotted for the scheme in a year. Deployment of such beneficiaries has commenced,” he said.

    GIS Communications Adviser, Mrs. Mary Ikoku, said companies searching for the right employees to fill vacant positions always ask for four or five years experience but many of the graduates do not have such experiences because they never worked before. However, by training these interns, they are able to get the required experience to confidently secure their dream jobs in the market.

    She said the GIS, remains a sub-component of SURE-P, targeted at delivering employment opportunities for Nigeria’s teeming unemployed graduates. He said participants must be graduates that have finished their National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) or obtained their certificate of exemption before they can participate. She regretted that some of Nigeria’s graduates are not employable, but these trainings would sharpen their skills. She said participants must be between 18 and 40 years. She said SURE-P is investing in critical infrastructure, Information Technology, social safety nets, oil and gas among others. She said the over time, refineries can be built through the scheme.

    Director, After School Graduate Development (ASGD), Funmi Adeyemi, one of the facilitators, said the interns were being trained to support and add value to the organisations where they work.

    She advised the interns to build self- confidence and develop the needed skills that will enable them to secure the right jobs when the opportunities arose.

    Over 83,000 beneficiaries have been registered, which is beyond the 50,000 allotted for the scheme in a year. She advised the youth on the need to be efficient, competent and team players as such skills will enable them to fit into the organisations where they work.

     

  • Govt adopts global accounting model

    Govt adopts global accounting model

    The Federal Government is planning to adopt the International Public Sector Accounting Standard (ISPAS) accrual basis in 2015. The measure is aimed at protecting its fixed assets and check corruption, it has been learnt.

    This varies from the ISPAS cash basis adopted on January 1, to enable the government track-down all cash-based transactions among its Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

    An Accountant and Consultant to Financial Reporting Council (FRC) on International Reporting Financial Standards (IFRS), Mr Uwadiae Oduware, said 2015 is the target year for the adoption of ISPAS accrual basis to ensure accountability in the public service.

    He told The Nation that the Accountant-General of the Federation, Jonas Otunla, and the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), in May, last year, agreed to promote the use of accounting standards in the public sector, leading to the adoption of ISPAS cash basis and accrual basis in 2013 and 2015.

    Both bodies, he said, have been working together on the issue since last year to encourage transparency in government.

    He said: “ISPAS accrual basis is expected to be implemented in federal-owned ministries in 2015. ISPAS cash and accrual basis are the public version of the International Financial Reporting Standards, and are meant for the public sector only. By ISPAS accrual basis, we are referring to the management of the fixed assets of the government.

    “The assets include lands and buildings. Under accrual basis, it would be easier to know, monitor and check untoward practices relating to the use of the fixed assets of the Federal Government.

    “For instance, if there is a wrong possession, or transfer of government land or building, it would not be long before such activities are discovered when ISPAS accrual basis is adopted in 2015. If a ‘movement’ofgovernment’s building occurs, the financial statement prepared with ISPAS accrual basis format would reveal it,” Oduware explained.

    “Government buys vehicles among other movable assets. A public servant may be in possession of three or four cars, and it would be difficult to track down such assets. The reason is because he might decide to hide some of the vehicles. But that is not possible when its come to fixed assets, because ISPAS accrual basis w ould provide detailed information about the assets,” he added.

    He said users of government’s financial statements would see more transparency, accountability and integrity in the statements, when ISPAS accrual basis is implemented in 2015.

    “I think the major objective of ISPAS accrual basis is to enable government have a true picture of its assets and balance sheets to prevent abuse of office among its officials,” he said.

    According to him, the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation will at the end of implementation process of ISPAS accrual basis in 2015, be able to deliver a standardised uniform chart of accounts, budget, financial statements that meets international best practices to the nation.

     

  • ‘Nigeria among largest unbanked population’

    ‘Nigeria among largest unbanked population’

    Nigeria has one of the largest numbers of people that have no access to traditional financial services in West Africa, according to a survey conducted by Sap Community Network and Standard Bank of South Africa (SBSA).

    In a report entitled: Accessibility to financial services in Sub-Sahara Africa, the firms said more than 80 per cent of people in the region do not have access to traditional financial services. The report said Nigeria has the largest percentage of people that have little or no access to financial services in the region.

    The report said: “In sub-Sahara Africa, more than 80 per cent of people have no access to traditional financial services. This has been one of the great challenges in fighting poverty in South Africa. Given the lack of developed infrastructure in many parts of Africa, how is it possible to provide millions of unbanked people with basic banking services?”

    They said people’s inability to provide proof of evidence is one of the biggest impediments to opening a new account.

    According to them, the introduction of mobile telephony services would increase accessibility to financial services or products in the region in future.

    “Standard Bank has been opening up to 7,000 new accounts each day through its mobile outreach programme. These new accounts are benefiting the people, the bank, and the economy. Bank customers are now able to use their phones to transfer funds, pay electric bills, and buy more air time. They also have access to credit that they have never been able to access before,” the report added.

     

     

     

    Standard Bank is not alone in bringing banking to the unbanked. Dutch-Bangla Bank is providing mobile banking much in the same way as Standard Bank of South Africa.

    Only 13% of Bangladesh’s 160 million people have a bank account. Many Bangladeshi citizens work in urban areas and send money home. The problem is to send the cash back home securely. With Dutch-Bangla Bank’s mobile solution, the ability to transfer funds eliminates the security issue.