Executive Secretary of Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRC), Dr. Rabiu Olowo, has urged inducted estate surveyors and valuers to uphold ethics, integrity, and professionalism.
He stressed that their work carries legal, financial, and national implications, making accuracy and accountability non-negotiable.
Dr. Olowo spoke in Lagos as guest speaker at 2025 induction for members of Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV).
The ceremony, which ushered members into the community of professional valuers, symbolises continuity, renewal, and deepening tradition of excellence.
He urged the inductees to produce reports that would withstand scrutiny of auditors, regulators, investors, and the courts.
Dr. Olowo added: “As you take your professional oath, I urge you to embrace continuous learning. Valuation is dynamic. Markets evolve, standards change, regulatory expectations shift, and the world increasingly demands transparency.
“You must equip yourselves with the knowledge and discipline to remain relevant, compliant, and competitive. Uphold the ethics of your profession. Avoid conflicts of interest. Document your assumptions rigorously.
“Challenge information that appears unreliable. Produce reports that can stand scrutiny of auditors, regulators, investors, and courts. Above all, be honest in your methods, in your judgments, and in your interactions with clients and stakeholders”.
Olowo, reminded the inductees that the day’s event was a milestone and also a beginning step for them.
“You are stepping into a field that holds enormous opportunity; opportunity to shape national development, to deepen financial transparency, to restore public trust, and to strengthen accountability in both the private and public sectors.
“As a regulator, I can assure you that the FRC values the role of the valuation profession. We consider you indispensable partners in the journey toward a more credible financial reporting regime, a stronger capital market, and a more resilient national economy,” the FRC boss said.
Dr. Olowo stated that FRC, through the Directorate of Valuation Standards, has invested significantly in building capacity.
“Not too long ago, the Council concluded the Nationwide Training Tour on valuation for Financial Reporting, where we engaged about 1000 professionals across the cities of Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Kaduna.
“The Council has also integrated Valuation for Financial Reporting methodologies into all its training programmes. We have also developed the Valuation for Financial Reporting guide and distributed it at no cost to professionals in all our engagements.
“The Directorate of Valuation Standards of the FRC is not merely a desk; it is an emerging institution within the FRC, established to regulate valuation for financial reporting, develop guidance materials, review valuation practices through inspection activities, and ensure that valuation reports used in financial statements meet the standards expected of a modern, transparent, and credible economy,” he said.
He emphasized that the Directorate of valuation standards at the FRC remains not just as a partner in professional growth, but it also a regulator.
“It will support you through training and engagement, but it will also hold you accountable to the responsibilities you accept today,” Dr. Olowo added.
Dr Olowo further reminded the inductees that they are not merely joining a profession, but are becoming custodians of trust.
“You will be producing valuation reports that have legal, financial, and reputational implications for organisations. Your assessments of fair value will influence decisions on loans, investments, mergers and acquisitions, insurance claims, government asset management, and even court proceedings.
“When companies publish their annual financial statements, your work will be embedded in the figures that investors use to decide whether to buy or sell shares. Regulators will depend on your work to assess solvency, capital adequacy, and compliance.
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“Government agencies will rely on your valuations to make infrastructure and policy decisions. In other words, you are entering a profession where accuracy is not just desirable but is compulsory. Where integrity is not just admired but is demanded, and where negligence is not merely unfortunate, but is consequential,” he said.
Speaking about the synergy between the FRC and the NIESV, Dr. Olowo described it a partnership worth celebrating.
“Over the last several years, both institutions have worked side by side, not as parallel organisations but as complementary pillars of the same accountability system. This relationship was most clearly demonstrated in the development of the Valuation for Financial Reporting Regulation, a landmark regulatory instrument that will soon reshape how valuation is conducted in the context of financial reporting in Nigeria.
“This regulation did not emerge from a vacuum. It was the product of deep collaboration, intense technical work, and the generous contribution of many seasoned NIESV members who served on the Technical Working Group.
“The Valuation for Financial Reporting Regulation now awaits Ministerial approval to become fully effective. This final step is procedural but essential, as it ensures that the regulation carries the full weight of law and is enforceable within the financial reporting ecosystem,” he added.
The FRC boss urged every inductee to take note of this: “The moment this regulation becomes effective, compliance will not be optional. It will be binding. It will determine the acceptability of valuation reports used in financial statements. It will guide auditors in identifying deficiencies, and it will inform the FRC’s inspection and monitoring work. In this new dispensation, your expertise must not only be sound, but it must be compliant.”
