The Nation Newspaper

Tag: auditors

  • Auditors doubt Multiverse’s status over N1.7b deficit

    External auditors have raised concerns over the ability of Multiverse Plc to meet its obligations as a going concern.

    But the directors of the mining company said it would pull through the hard times, despite its N1.75 billion deficit.

    In its latest audit report obtained at the weekend, external auditors to Multiverse, Sola Oyetayo & Co, said there is material uncertainty that casts doubts on the ability of the firm to continue as a going concern. The report was on the company’s latest financial statement for the period ended December 31, 2014.

    The report indicated that Multiverse has a huge deficit of N1.75 billion by the end of the year. The report noted that it recorded a net loss of N552.41 million last year, adding that it had lost N549.33 million in 2013.

    The report showed that by December last year, the company’s current liabilities exceeded its current assets by N1.75 billion, a worse position than N1.13 billion deficit recorded the year before.

    “These conditions together with other matters as explained in Note 27 indicate the existence of a material uncertainty which cast doubt on the company’s ability to continue as a going concern,” the external auditors noted.

    Directors of Multiverse, however, assured that the company would continue as a going concern, citing business partnerships, foreign capital investments and ongoing turnaround initiatives.

    Key extracts of the audited report and accounts of Multiverse for the year ended December 31, 2014 indicated that turnover declined from N286.18 million in 2013 to N49.17 million in 2014. The company recorded gross loss of N91.49 million in 2014 as against gross profit of N183.76 million in 2013. Operating loss stood at N336.36 million in 2014 compared with N438.53 million in 2013. Loss before tax stood at N580.01 million in 2014 as against N612.73 million in 2013. Loss after tax meanwhile increased from N549.33 million to N552.41 million.

    Further analysis showed a worsening precarious balance sheet position. Total assets had dropped consecutively from N5.49 billion in 2012 to N4.99 billion in 2013 and closed 2014 at N4.77 billion.

    Shareholders’ funds also declined from N2.70 billion in 2013 to N2.15 billion and N1.60 billion in 2013 and 2014 respectively.

    The Board of the company, however, explained that its net current liability was due to backlog of trade and other liabilities and current portion of long-term borrowings which were unpaid over years.

    According to the board, the accumulated losses, which rose from N1.22 billion in 2013 to N1.77 billion, were primarily caused by no production and sales during the year as well as massive finance costs of N243.65 million in 2014 and N174.21 million in 2013, arising from non-payment of overdue long-term borrowings and poor performance of the company over years.

    “During the reporting year, the company has undertaken a thorough review of its financial position and its business strategy to improve the position in near future. The directors believe that the business will be able to renegotiate and reschedule all matured borrowings to cushioning the effect of long-term obligations as they fall due,” the board stated.

    Directors of the company noted that the company had signed a partnership agreement with Anhui Huishang Metal Company of China, which plans to invest $111 million over five years in the company’s Abuni Lead/Zinc mine while extensive exploration had been carried out by the mining technical partner that confirmed the availability of Lead/Zinc Ore in commercial quantity.

    The Board added that with the receipt of a written confirmation that production will commence at the Abuni mine site before the end of 2015 and the quarry joint operation with Sinotrust Partners Limited that have started full operation, the fortune of the company will change significantly.

    “The company has also reviewed its business model from being a mining operation company to mining investment company; this will translate to attraction of foreign investments and technical partners to develop its vast mining resources. As a result, the directors believe the company will continue as a going concern,” the board assured.

    The company said it hopes to retain its leading role in granite production in South Western Nigeria, a situation that will improve its cash flows significantly.

     

  • The multi-billion dollar NNPC fraud, by auditors

    The multi-billion dollar NNPC fraud, by auditors

    How much is missing from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation’s (NNPC’s) books – $20billion? $1.48billion? $4.29billion?

    The question remained unresolved yesterday – despite the release of the auditors’ report. But one fact is clear: the system is rotten.

    Former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi threw down the gauntlet in 2013 when he alleged that $20billion oil money was unremitted to the treasury.

    A committee set up by Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said about $10billion was the figure.

    When auditing giant PriceWaterHouseCooper was brought in, it said, according to the government, that only $1.48 billion should have been remitted to the treasury.

    The report, which the Presidency released yesterday – apparently to clear itself of shielding corrupt officials – said the oil giant should have refunded $4.29billion.

    Besides, the report opened a can of worms, returning a damning verdict on NNPC’s operations.

    The Nigeria Petroleum Development Corporation (NPDC), according to the auditors, was hostile. It made its job difficult.

    Petroleum Minister Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke said last week that $1.48billion was unremitted, adding that the NPDC was already returning cash.

    The NNPC, said the report, was making deductions in its revenue before remitting funds to the treasury.

    PwC stated: “Clarity is required on whether such deductions should be made by NNPC as a first line charge, before remitting the net proceeds of domestic crude to the federation accounts. If these are deemed not to be valid deductions, then the amount due from NNPC would be estimated at $2.07 billion (without considering expected known remittances from NPDC) or $4.29 billion (if expected known remittances from NPDC are considered).”

    PwC came to this conclusion because between 12 January and 29 January 2015, the audit firm confirmed that “NNPC provided transaction documents representing additional costs of $2.81 billion related to the review period, citing the NNPC Act LFN No 33 of 1977 that allows such deductions”.

    PwC said it did not have access to NPDC’s full accounts and records “and we have not ascertained the amount of costs and expenses which should be applied to the $5.11billion crude oil revenue (net of royalties and PPT paid) per the NPDC submission to the Senate Committee which should be considered as dividend payment by NPDC to NNPC for ultimate remittance to the Federation Account.”

    There were suggestions that the NNPC cooked the books. The oil giant, the audit firm said, “provided information on the difference leading to a potential excess remittance of $0.74 billion (without considering expected remittances from NPDC). Other indirect costs of $2.81billion, which were not part of the submission to the Senate Committee hearing have been defrayed to arrive at this position.”

    In its comments section, PwC noted that it did not obtain any information directly from NPDC, “but in accordance with NPDC former Managing Director’s (Mr Briggs Victor’s) submission to the Senate Committee hearing on the subject matter, for the period, NPDC generated $5.11billion (net of royalties and petroleum profits tax paid).”

    As a result, PwC said it relied on the legal opinion provided to the Senate Committee by the Attorney General (AG), Mr Bello Adoke “on the subject of the transfers of various NNPC (55%) portion of Oil leases (OMLs) involved in the Shell (SPDC) Divestments which impact crude oil flows in the period. The AG’s opinion indicated that these transfers were within the authority of the minister to make.”

    If this is true, PwC believes “these assets were validly transferred to NPDC. The same AG’s Legal Opinion also indicated that NPDC was to make payments for Net Revenue (dividend) to NNPC, which should ultimately be remitted to the Federation Account.”

    Some of the limitations encountered by the auditing firm, which affected its findings, were:

    •inavailability of NPDC personnel to provide information on its processes;

    •non-response of NPDC to request for detailed breakdown of the crude oil assets transferred to NPDC;

    •volume of allocations to Strategic Alliance Partners per partner and list of receiving banks;

    •account numbers and bank statements for NPDC crude proceeds.

    “We encountered some limitations in the course of executing some aspects of our scope of work. The key limitations were: Unavailability of relevant NPDC personnel to provide information on the NPDC’s processes particularly around its operations, business objectives and internal accounting/financial reporting, etc; change of management at NPDC during the course of the engagement, which further contributed to our inability to successfully obtain responses to our request for information; non-response of NPDC to our request letter, which meant that we weren’t provided with the following requests:

    •Detailed breakdown of the crude oil assets transferred to NPDC.

    •Terms of divestment and contract documents involving the assets taken over.

    •Strategic Alliance agreements between NPDC and counterparties.

    •Monthly volume allocations to Strategic Alliance Partners per partner.

    •Monthly balance of NPDC crude over-lifts by Strategic Alliance partners.

    •List of receiving banks, account numbers and bank statements for NPDC crude proceeds.”

    The report added: “We did not have access to NPDC’s full accounts and records and we have not ascertained the amount of costs and expenses which should be applied to the $5.11billion Crude Oil revenue (net of royalties and PPT paid) per the NPDC submission to the Senate Committee which should be considered as dividend payment by NPDC to NNPC for ultimate remittance to the Federation Account.”

    The firm said working with the documents made available to it, it established that the gross revenues generated from Federal Government’s crude oil liftings was $69.34bn and not $67 billion as stated by the Reconciliation Committee for the period from January 2012 to July 2013.

    It also found out that the cash remitted into the Federation Accounts in relation to crude oil liftings was $50.81bn and not $47b as stated by the Reconciliation Committee. It said this amount was arrived at because “ (Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation) NNPC has provided information on the difference leading to a potential excess remittance of $0.74 billion (without considering expected remittances from NPDC). Other indirect costs of $2.81billion, which were not part of the submission to the Senate Committee hearing, have been defrayed to arrive at this position.”

    The report observed that the “resulting potential excess remittance indicates that the Corporation operates an unsustainable model”.

    The report states that “the Corporation is unable to sustain monthly remittances to the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), and also meet its operational costs entirely from the proceeds of domestic crude oil revenues, and have had to incur third party liabilities to bridge the funding gap. Furthermore, the review period recorded international crude oil prices averaging $122.5 per barrel (Average Platts prices for 2012). As at the time of concluding this report, international crude oil prices average about $46.07 per barrel, which is about sixty two percent (62%) reduction when compared to the crude oil prices for the review period. If the NNPC overhead costs and subsidies are maintained (assuming crude oil production volumes are maintained), the corporation may have to exhaust all the proceeds of domestic crude oil sales, and may still require third party liabilities to meet costs of operations and subsidies, and may not be able to make any remittances to FAAC.”

    It, therefore, recommended that the “NNPC model of operation must be urgently reviewed and restructured, as the current model, which has been in operation since the creation of the Corporation, cannot be sustained”.

    PwC also established that a “determination is required as to whether all or a portion of other costs not directly attributable to crude oil operations can be defrayed by NNPC”.

    It recommended that the NNPC be required to disclose details of all existing liabilities and impact on proceeds of future crude oil sales.

    PwC said: “Accordingly, all the Corporations costs, and those of its loss making subsidiaries have been defrayed in the analysis provided by the Corporation for the review period. However, the profit making subsidiaries and dividends received have been excluded from the analysis provided. This suggests that there are other sources of net revenues available to the Corporation not currently disclosed. A proper estimate of the actual potential excess remittance/under-remittance can only be arrived at if all revenues and all costs of the Corporation and all its subsidiaries are accounted for in a consolidated position. A detailed review of this was beyond the scope of our mandate.

    “We, therefore, recommend that NNPC be required to disclose the consolidated position of the Group and its subsidiaries, and expected remittances to the Federation accounts be determined from the available consolidated net revenues. Furthermore, the nature of costs that are allowable should be pre-determined by all relevant parties.

    “We also recommend that the NNPC Act be reviewed as the content contradicts the requirement for NNPC to be run as a commercially viable entity. It appears the act has given the Corporation a ‘blank’ cheque to spend money without limit or control. This is untenable and unsustainable and must be addressed immediately. The Corporation should be required to create value, and meet its expenses entirely from the value created.

    “Proceeds from the FGN’s crude oil sales should be remitted entirely to the Federation Account. Commisions for the Corporation services can then be paid based on agreed terms.”

    It added: “We also expect that NPDC should remit dividends to NNPC and ultimately the Federation Account, based on NPDC’s dividend policy and declaration of dividend for the review period.We did not have access to NPDC’s full accounts and records and we have not ascertained the amount of costs and expenses which should be applied to the $5.11billion Crude Oil revenue (net of royalties and PPT paid) per the NPDC submission to the Senate Committee hearing in order to arrive at the Net Revenue (in line with the AG’s Opinion), which should be subjected to dividend remittance.We are also not aware that NPDC declared dividend for the review period.

    These matters need to be followed up for final resolution in terms of the NPDC Net Revenue (dividend) for Crude Oil relating to the transfers, PPT and royalty unremitted, and the transfer price valuation and remittance.”

    The auditors’ other findings include “possible errors in the computation of crude oil prices at the NNPC that resulted in a $3.6 million shortfall in incomes to the Federation Account.

    “The major beneficiaries were Fujairah Refinery – $805,545, NNPC (KRPC/WRPC) – $697,995 and NNPC (COMD) – $2,107,275. Subsequent to our identification of this issue, NNPC has amended the errors, and have reflected the amendments in the remittances to FAAC in October 2014.”

    The report uncovered iregularities in Kerosine subsidy. It said: “Our review of the DPK sales process revealed that NNPC sells DPK to bulk DPK marketers in Nigeria at N40.90 per litre at a location on the coastal waterways (off shore Lagos). The expected/official regulated retail price of DPK in Nigeria is N50 per litre. This retail price of N50 comprises the ex-depot price of N34.51 and a margin of N15.49. NNPC should be required to explain the reason for selling DPK at N40.90, rather than the regulated Ex-depot price of N34.51. The Corporation should also be required to explain the reason for selling DPK to bulk DPK marketers at a location on the coastal waterways (off shore Lagos) rather than at the in-country depots.”

    The auditors criticised the accounting and reconciliation system for crude oil revenues used by government agencies as “inaccurate and weak”. “We noted significant discrepancies in data from different sources. The lack of independent audit and reconciliation led to over reliance on data produced from NNPC. This matter is further compounded by the lack of independence within NNPC as the business has conflicting interests of being a stand-alone self-funding entity and also the main source of revenue to the Federation Account,” they said.

     

  • Auditors meet April 28

    AOCOED will host the16th Annual General Meeting of Committee of Heads of Internal Audit Directorates in Nigeria Colleges of Education (CHIADINCOE) on Tuesday, April 28 at the Senator Oluremi Tinubu Hall of the institution.

  • NNPC and foren-sick auditors

    It must be in order for Hardball to confess upfront that he is not particularly in love with accountants – and lawyers too. He would be the most happy if the world could do without them or better still, do away with them. Why? He thinks they do more harm than good to the modern man; or if you prefer, they cause more harm to the civilised world.

    Lawyers are not the subject of focus here, so we let them go in peace today. Besides, and in fairness to lawyers, they hardly start the quarrels, they are only on hand to help complicate and cash in on them.

    Accounting on the other hand and by Hardball’s estimation, is the most legitimised scam man ever contrived. It is a dreadful irony that a system that has been perfected over the ages to help man track his wealth is also the one most vulnerable to abuse and manipulation. For instance, every audit or accounting report can bear at least half a dozen versions.

    In other words, six different reports can be generated on one company’s particular accounts and mind you, not by six different firms, but one. Yes, just one accounting firm can produce for you, six different reports if you so desire and would make it worth their while.

    Any John Doe who can read an annual report of accounts knows that accounting is more about creative (mis)application of numbers for a desired result than a true picture of business transactions for a period. Yet people hardly speak up or demand a revolution. We have seen companies – some so-called blue-chip companies – audited to death by equally top-notch audit firms. Often, we have seen companies that are mere hollow shells yet reputable audit firms hide such deleterious facts from the investing public for many years until the dam of infamy busts and everyone gets drowned in it. Everyone but the audit firm.

    The best example in Nigeria is the Cadbury debacle a few years ago: for over a decade, a foremost audit firm reassured shareholder and the public that Cadbury was a blue-chip company. By the time it came to light that Cadbury had turned to dust, it was almost beyond salvage. It took almost another decade to revive it. Of course casualties were aplenty. The audit firm lost nothing; not even its ugly face.

    Who does not know the story of Arthur Anderson (AA)? At the apogee of AA, the entire globe was at its feet; it had its pick of jobs from government and corporate. Woe betide you if you worked with an AA alumnus: you would almost believe he resumed from Mars and returned straight to Mars after work. AA became a deity worshipped by denizens of the corporate world until a certain mega energy firm called Enron crashed. The world suddenly woke up to the fact that AA is actually a mere wooden totem. And if gold rust…

    As you may have guessed dear reader, the leitmotif of this long verbal excursion is that Hardball is of the lay opinion that something seems sick about the recent PWC’s forensic audit of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC. Especially because they call it forensic!

  • Lagos trains auditors on forensic accounting certification

    Lagos trains auditors on forensic accounting certification

    The Lagos State Government has begun a week-long training programme for auditors within its employ on fraud detection and forensic accounting procedure in order to enhance proper auditing of the state government accounts.

    The programme, declared opened by the State Auditor-General, Mrs. Helen Deile at the Peninsula Resorts, Lekki at the weekend, was designed to further enhance accountability, integrity and transparency in the auditing system of Lagos state.

    Deile said the training was timely, especially with the rampant cases of fraudulent acts all over the world, stressing the need to check this abnormal trend and possibly eradicate it.

    According to her, the forensic accounting certification training was organised in collaboration with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), to build the capacity of the auditors in the State Auditor General’s office about trends in the accounting and auditing profession.

    Deile expressed hope that the week-long training would make participants better officers in their respective work schedule to deliver on government mandates than before.

    She lauded the State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN) for granting approval for the In-house forensic accounting certification training programme for the auditors.

    She also praised the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), while sorting for smoother relationship with the institute.

    The Deputy Registrar, Technical Services of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) Mr. Abel Aig Asein responding, commended the several giant steps always taken by the state government by cueing into laudable initiatives. He commended the state government for being the first state in the federation to embrace the forensic accounting training programme.

  • Auditors kick against dominance by KPMG, Deloitte, others

    Auditors kick against dominance by KPMG, Deloitte, others

    Indigenous auditors are concerned about the rising level of control enjoyed by  KPMG,  Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Accenture, Deloitte and Ernst & Young  commonly referred to as the “big five” professional services firms.

    The Chairman, SIAO, an indigenous auditing firm, Robert Ade-Odiachi said the “big five” have corned top jobs from government parastatals, banks and other leading firms in the country.

    He said the relevance being given to the firms runs contrary to the Local Content Act, 2010, which stipulated that key jobs from government be done by local auditors, in partnership with international operators.

    Ade-Odiachi said the “big five” are parading themselves as indigenous Nigerian firms when what they are at best are franchises of foreign professional firms. “What we are witnessing presently, in the business sector of this country, is a blatant disregard for the provisions of the Nigerian Local Content Act, 2010. The “big five” professional services firms are parading themselves as indigenous Nigerian firms when what they are at best are franchises of foreign professional firms, he said.

    Continuing, he said the firms service all banks, most if not all most public quoted companies and Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), multinationals and other public interest companies to the utmost total exclusion of indigenous formed and owned firm.

    Managing Partner, SIAO, Itua Ighodalo said the “big five” have managed to do this because of the negligence and in very many cases, the support of government agencies. He said the local Content Act, 2010 is clear in its provisions and intent.

    He said the purpose of enacting the Local Content Act is to develop local skills, facilitate technology transfer, ensure optimum use of local manpower and local manufacturing in the Nigerian Oil and Gas sector.

    Ighodalo argued that even if foreign companies are registered in Nigeria, and can qualify as Nigerian firms, they are most certainly not indigenous or wholly Nigerian.

    “It is needless to state that the Local Content Act was enacted to cater for and provide protection for Nigerian indigenous companies that are in competition with foreign companies and foreign companies with subsidiaries in Nigeria,” he said.

  • FRC: Auditors will be liable for banks’ indiscretions

    Internal auditors will, henceforth, be held accountable for discrepancies in banks’ books after being examined by the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRC), The Nation has learnt.

    To this end, FRC will begin audit quality inspection of banks before the end of this month.

    In a report titled: “The role of FRC in promoting investors’ confidence in Nigeria,” FRC Chief Executive Officer Jim Obazee said there was need to check what the auditors were doing always.

    “We are to look at who is checking the checker (internal auditors). This will be done through the external auditors, but there are international audit control rules that must be followed,” he said.

    Auditors, who sign-off their jobs, he said, were expected to put their FRC numbers and the names of their firms instead of the current tradition of just writing the names of their audit firms in small letters.

    Obazee urged auditors to be more circumspect in doing their jobs, as they risk personal liability for misbehaviour.

    Audit quality inspections, he said, were in line with its desire to become a member “of the International Forum of Independent Audit Regulators (IFIAR), adding that this will be a booster to the capacity of the Council to monitor audit quality.”

    He said the “first phase of the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)in Nigeria has started producing enhanced perception for Nigeria, adding that the FRC is currently carrying out IFRS readiness test for entities in the second phase- (Other Public Interest entities, including Not-for-Profit Organisations).”

    He said FRC was convinced that the national Code of Corporate governance would be operational in the first quarter of the year.

    This, he said, would strengthen compliance with Section 44 (3) of the FRC Act and enhance the inflow of Foreign Direct Investment and stir greater interest from local investors.

    The body, he said, is also to address current institutional weaknesses in regulation, compliance and enforcement of standards and the development of robust arrangements for monitoring and enforcing compliance with financial reporting standards in the country.

    He said the implementation of the FRC Act is expected to lead to increased management credibility, more long-term investments, lower cost of capital, improved access to new capital and higher share values. “For investors and lenders, better disclosure provides more relevant information for making sound investment decisions and risk assessment. This is especially so because merchants do not have a country,” he said.

    Obazee said the FRC is carrying out International Financial Reporting Standards’ readiness test for entities now in the second phase for other public interest entities including not-for-profit organisation.

     

  • Auditors worried over DN Meyer’s cashflow status

    Auditors worried over DN Meyer’s cashflow status

    AuDiTORS are not impressed with the liquid position of DN Meyer Plc, which they noted, cast doubts over its ability to continue as a going concern.

    The independent external auditors said the company’s mounting and recurring working capital deficiencies and negative operating cashflows were worrisome.

    In the latest audit of the DN Meyer Group, consisting of DN Meyer Plc and its subsidiary, DNM Construction Limited, auditors at Akintola Williams Deloitte said the group had sustained recurring working capital deficiencies over the past three years and a negative cash flow in the current audit. These conditions, they said, cast doubt on the company’s ability to continue as a going concern.

    The directors of DN Meyer, however, spoke of what they call the continuing improvement of the company’s operations which would enable it to generate adequate cash flows in the years ahead while the board continued to support its liquidity in the meantime.

    The audit report dated August 15, 2013 highlighted the possibility of the working capital deficiencies and negative cash flow impairing on the sustainable operations of the company. The auditors, however, stated that financial statements of the company for 2012 and 2011 fairly represented the operations of the company and were in accordance with the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA), 2004, the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria Act 2011 and the International Financial Reporting Standards.

    In the latest audit for the year ended December 31, 2012, the report showed sustained increase in negative working capital for the paints and allied group over the past three years as it struggled with huge bank loans and interest expenses.

    Negative working capital rose by 11 per cent to N181 million in 2012 as against N163 million and N60 million in 2011 and 2010 . Besides, the group recorded negative operating cash flows of N34 million in 2012.

    The audited report showed that gross loans rose from N877.41 million in 2011 to N930 million in 2012. While current assets depreciated from N695.7 million in 2011 to N621.1 million in 2012, current liabilities dropped from N859.1 million to N802.1 million, indicating a deficiency in the working capital of the group.

    The board of the company blamed the legacy loans and the attendant financing charges for the continuing negative bottom-line of the company. While the group recorded modest operating profit of N22.3 million and N17.5 million in 2012 and 2011, financing charges were N115.6 million and N122.7 million in 2012 and 2011; a situation that threw the group’s bottom-line into the red.

    Consequently, loss before tax stood at N28.83 million in 2012, a substantial reduction from loss of N80.3 million recorded in 2011. After taxes, net loss reduced from N54.1 million in 2011 to N26.9 million in 2012. Group turnover had increased from N1.36 billion to N1.49 billion.

    The board of the company said it has not taken any additional loans since 2011 and the company has accelerated the payment of some of the bank loans and sundry debts to suppliers to minimise the interest expense. It noted that the financial charges being paid were based on the previous loans.

    Chairman, DN Meyer Plc, Sir Remi Omotoso, said the company has continued to pursue credible and ethical plans to achieve a robust and sustainable growth and exit its legacy of loss making.

    According to him, the directors of the company are focused on cost reduction while working to increase sales in order to improve the profitability of the company.

    He noted that the bright prospects for the building and construction industry, which is signposted by the deficit in urban housing stock, provides opportunity for the paints industry.

    He however lamented the adverse impact of the poor state of infrastructure on the operations of the company, pointing out that huge costs related to the heavy dependence on generators for power supply and similar costs due to operating environments.

     

     

    affected the performance of the company.

     

     

    “We will continue to improve our processes and vigorously drive standardization through unrelenting enforcement of company regulations and compliance all through our supply chain. We would strengthen our networking in order to take advantage of the continued growth in the economy so as to enhance our efforts for good returns to our various stakeholders,” Omotoso said.

  • Anti-money laundering auditors coming

    Examiners from the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) and Financial Action Task Force (FATF) will be in Nigeria in 10 days to assess banks’ compliance with international money laundering laws, GIABA Information Manager in Nigeria, Timothy Melaye, has said.

    Speaking on the telephone with The Nation over the weekend, he said officials of the groups will carry out checks at the branches of selected banks across the country, ading that compliance at the airports and land borders may also come under their scrutiny.

    The outcome of recent evaluation of Nigeria financial sector revealed an abysmal performance on the recommendations relating to the adoption and implementation of the FATF standards. This makes the sector one of the vulnerable sectors in African economies.

    Melaye said the country’s inclusion on the list of non-co-operative countries (NCCTs) has stalled foreign direct investment (FDI) into the country, adding that many investors avoid bringing their funds into non-compliant countries.

    The FATF had listed the non-implementation of procedures to identify and freeze terrorists’ assets and failure to ensure that customer due diligence requirements apply to all financial transactions as areas Nigeria needs to address in order to ensure her removal from the high-risk and non-cooperative jurisdictions list.

    He said: “There is need to protect bank officers involved in driving the implementation of the money laundering laws and regulations as well as institution of penalties against non-compliant staff.

    “However, Nigeria has largely addressed its action plan by enacting legislation to adequately criminalise money laundering and terrorist financing, implementing procedures to identify and freeze terrorist assets, ensuring that customer due diligence requirements apply to all financial instructions.”

    He said there was also a meeting between the Nigeria Presidential Committee of FATF and the FATF Regional Review Group in Paris, France,in addition to other significant remediation measures/actions taken by the country.