The Executive Secretary/Chief Executive of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria, Dr. Rabiu Olowo, said that the key to achieving this Administration’s goal of a $1 trillion economy by 2026 still lies in a sound valuation system.
This was disclosed during a courtesy visit by the CEO of the International Valuation Standard Council, Nicholas Talbot, in Abuja.
Olowo stressed that evidence had shown a strong connection between valuation and global competitiveness in business, bringing investors and enhancing credible financial reports.
The IVSC serves as an independent global standard setter for the valuation profession, with a mission to raise the standards of international valuation practice, and as a result, promote the integrity of the financial system to benefit both capital markets and the public interest.
The Council outlines among other things, the requirements for carrying out all valuation tasks, such as determining the terms of engagement, value bases, valuation methodologies, and reports.
According to the FRC boss, this visit was a demonstration of Nigeria’s significance in the world valuation market and underlined the critical nature of harmonisation of national valuation standards with international best practices.
He stressed the pivotal role of valuation professionals in safeguarding financial integrity.
Rabiu stated, “So for us, Valuation is at the core of our mandate and we’re very excited to have them here. You know, the work that valuation professionals do is significant to the economy, whether you have a valuation of assets, receivables, or anything of its kind, you find that it’s key to every financial reporting principle and the governance process.
“So at the end of the day, once investors have confidence in the business that we do here and how we value our balance sheet, it will promote that confidence. And at the end of the day, it’s going to have a catalytic effect on the economy. And our hopes of achieving the $1 trillion economy will only be a matter of time.”
Olowo said the establishment of a Valuation Standards Directorate within the Council was intended to ensure compliance by Nigeria’s enterprises with internationally accepted transparency reporting standards.
Commenting, the IVSC CEO commended the FRC for the establishment of a Directorate of Valuation standards for credible financial reporting to increase investors confidence in driving economic growth towards Nigeria’s $1 trillion economic target,
Talbot said “The key to investors’ confidence is having a stable financial system but also an approach where you understand it from an external investor point of view. Imagine a world where there were 195 different approaches to valuation.
“It would make it very difficult for investors to decide where to invest. So the fact that Nigeria uses international valuation standards and the regulators are looking at strengthening that approach in terms of their oversight is only going to give more confidence to investors which will help move you to the $1 trillion dream faster.”
