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Tag: Victoria Enape

  • Forensic auditors urge action on CIFIA Bill

    The Chartered Institute of Forensic and Investigative Auditors of Nigeria (CIFIA) has called on the House of Representatives to follow the Senate and pass the CIFIA Bill in order to boost the fight against corruption.

    CIFIA’s Chief promoter, Dr Victoria Enape, made the appeal at the induction/ training of new members in Abuja, with the theme “Transition to Forensic and Investigative Audit.”

    The Bill for an Act to establish the Chartered Institute of Forensic and Investigative Auditors of Nigeria was jointly sponsored by Sen. Ahmed Lawan, the Senate Majority Leader and Sen. Andy Uba.

    The Bill has been passed by the Senate and waits passage by the lower chamber before transmission to the president for assent.

    Enape, in a statement in Abuja, advised the Federal Government to embrace the current trend of forensic and investigative auditing to revamp the nation’s economy and check fraudulent practices.

    She said if the Bill was enacted, it would help position forensic fellows in various organisations and agencies to check illicit financial flow in the country.

    Enape said: “Our appeal is that the Bill should be given speedy concurrence at the House of Representatives, so that it can be moved to the president for assent.

    “After presidential assent, we will be able to do anything Nigeria wants us to do to assist in ensuring prevention of fraud.”

    Enape also called for synergy with stakeholders in order to ensure that forensic auditing which was a new trend in global auditing became a reality in Nigeria.

    “Therefore forensic auditors must not necessary be only accountants considering the nature of the works involved,” she added.

    On his part, a fellow of CIFIA, Mr Mavis Ighota, said that the induction would enable the professional diversity in response to the urgent globalisation in the fight against fraud and corruption.

    According to him, CIFIA is soliciting for collaboration with ICAN and other professional bodies in order to achieve their respective goals.

    “We are pleading with ICAN that they should calm down and let us work together.

    “We are no threat to any professional body in Nigeria but only trying to fill a vacuum” she said.

  • Malami: We’ve recovered billions through whistleblower policy

    Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, SAN has stated that the government through its whistleblower policy have recovered billions of naira.

    He said the recovery was made possible through other measures like the establishment of the Presidental Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), Executive Order No.6 etc.

    Speaking at the 2nd annual conference/induction ceremony for new members of the Chartered Institute of Forensic and Investigative Auditors (CIFIA), he added that the administration through his office ensures that corrupt individuals are unable to use the money or property pbtained through corrupt means.

    Malami also stated that it is the belief of the Buhari administration that those who corruptly enrich themselves with public funds should be jailed to serve as deterrence to others.

    His words, “Mr. President has since assumption of office, through my office as the Honourable Attorney General of The Federation and Minister of Justice introduced a number of measures aimed at preventing culprits of corruption from using money or properties obtained through corrupt means.

    Read Also: Malami faults NASS on impeachment plot against Buhari

    “Some of These measures include the introduction of the whistleblower policy. Executive Order No.6, establishment of the Presidential Advisory Committee against Corruption (PACAC) just to mention a few.

    “These measures have yielded a number of positive results paticulary in the recovery of proceeds of crime running into billions of Naira through the whistlebIower policy.

    “While such measures would be strengthened to achieve the desired objective, it is the belief of administration that those who corruptly enrich themselves with public funds should not only be denied the benefits of the proceeds their corrupt practices but should be tried in court and where found guilty should be jailed to serve as deterrence to others.”

    President CIFIAN, Dr. Victoria Enape stated that the primary domain of forensic and Investigative auditing is to work within the investigative process from the scene of financial fraud to court.

    Her words “The primary domain of forensic and Investigative auditing is to work within the investigative process from the scene of financial fraud to court, providing information and evidence for administration of justice.

    “This we believe will be a major boost to activities of anti-corruption agencies such as the EFCC, ICPC and CCT.”

  • Less than 100,000 accountants produced by ICAN in 50 years

    The Chartered Institute of Forensic and Investigative Auditors of Nigeria (CIFIA) has expressed concern that  the Institute of Chartered Accountants (ICAN) produced less than the accounting need of the country.

    The Institute estimates that ICAN produces roughly one accountant to nearly 2,000 Nigerians and it says that if foreign businesses in the country are added, the figure will be less.

    President CIFIA, Dr. Victoria Enape explained that unfortunately CIFIA is not an accounting professional body but an anti-fraud organization that cuts across other professions.

    Speaking on Thursday in Abuja at the pre-induction training/mandatory continuing professional training, Enape stated that while ICAN handles financial accounting and associated responsibilities of financial statements, CIFIA is an anti-fraud organization that provides skills to internal and external auditor.

    Read Also: Nigeria accounts for only 1% African imports

    Her words, “ClFlA is anti-fraud organization that provide skills to internal and external auditors, lawyers, criminologist, cyber professionals, security experts, etc on how to make use of science and technological tools to detect, prevent and investigate fraud no matter how smaH-big, and also put in place some sophisticated mechanisms to prevent future occurrence. Therefore, CIFIA membership is not limited to only Accountants, but multidisciplinary in nature.

    “Besides; How can a country of (198 million by the most recent estimate of the Nigerian Population Commission and projected to be the world’s 3rd largest population by 2050, that’s in the next 32 years) feel happy and occupationally contented with just 2 professional accounting bodies? Smaller countries have over 10 professional accounting bodies.

    “For over 50 years of its existence, ICAN has produced less than 100,000 accountants that is roughly 1 accountant to nearly 2,000 Nigerians. Now, if you add foreign businesses in Nigeria. that figure will even recede. So, where therefore lies the incompetence they are talking about? Who among them is more qualified than the promoters of CIFIA bill? Is it not the same argument of incompetence that they used against promoters of ANAN and CITN Bills?

    “They even took ANAN and CITN to court and lost all their cases. Unfortunately ClFlA is not even Accounting Professional Body, but anti-fraud organization that cut across other professions. This unethical and mischievous behavior of ICAN should be disregarded neglected and be totally discourage.”

  • Senate hailed over passage of forensic, investigative auditors’ bill

    The Chartered Institute of Investigative and Forensic Auditors (CIFIA) has commended the Senate over the passage of the CIFIA Bill.

    The Bill for an Act to establish the CIFIA of Nigeria was jointly sponsored by Senate Majority Leader, Sen. Ahmed Lawan, and Sen. Andy Uba.

    President of the association, Dr Victoria Enape, who spoke with reporters in Abuja, said that the Bill was signed at the right time and commended members of the red chamber for upholding the truth.

    She appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to assent to the Bill when transmitted to him.

    Enape said that forensic auditing was the answer in the fight against corruption, adding that CIFIA had the mechanism to prevent fraud.

    She said that CIFIA would help in gathering evidence needed in prosecuting high profile corruption cases as it required Nigerian experts who knew the terrain to investigate and prosecute corruption cases.

    She said: “First and foremost, I will like to commend the Nigeria Senate for being very transparent in the issue of the passage of this Bill from beginning to the end.

    “I sincerely appreciate them and pray that the almighty God bless them and their generations for the good work they are doing for Nigeria.

    “They saw that CIFIA has come to Nigeria at the right time and they did not compromise the truth. Indeed this is commendable.

    “Forensic and Investigative auditors represent a global paradigm shift from traditional auditing practice to skillful deployment of science and technological tools to prevent, detect, or resolve financial fraud or expose possible criminal activity concealed in financial accounts.

    “This is a profound genre of anti-fraud professionals, whose academic background cuts across accounting, law, criminology, cyber security, banking, economics, and police detectives. Forensic auditing integrates investigative skills in order to resolve or expose concealed or suspected financial fraud.”

    Enape said that the emergence of forensic and investigative auditing on the global scene was based on the realisation that fraudsters had gone sophisticated and in some instances taken advantage of the 21st digital revolution to perpetrate fraud which was undetectable by traditional auditing.

    According to her, the primary domain of forensic and investigative auditing is to work within the investigative process from the scene of financial fraud to court, providing information and evidence for administration of justice.

    She said that CIFIA would help Nigeria to have skilled professionals to deepen the fraud prevention, detection and preserve money in government treasury for infrastructural development that is far disappearing in our country today, through transparency in advanced auditing system that engender integrity and objectivity.

    “The present accounting practice cannot achieve this objective being pursued by CIFIA. There is a need for specialization in Nigeria as it is practiced in other countries of the world.

    “CIFIA is anti-fraud organisation that provide skills to internal and external auditors, lawyers, criminologist, cyber professionals, security experts, among others on how to make use of science and technological tools to detect, prevent and investigate fraud no matter how small-big, and also put in place some sophisticated mechanisms to prevent future occurrence.”