The Commerce Africa African Reneissance
Related Articles
The Federal Government is counting on the support of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria to ensure the economic sustainability of the nation.
President Muhammadu Buhari said this in Abuja during the opening session of the 52nd National Conference of ICAN.
The conference is themed, ‘’Nigeria adopting sustainability for economic prosperity’’.
Buhari who was represented by the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed said the government is implementing the National Development Plan in a bid to drive financial sustainability.
He assured that the government is firmly committed to the 2030 agenda for sustainable development.
Buhari revealed that the estimated cost of Nigeria’s Sustainability Development Goals financing requirements is about $100bn.
He stated that it is on this very account that the National Development Plan 2021—2025 and associated strategies were put in place to reflect emerging threats and opportunities to developing a clear path to reaching the nation’s goals and priorities.
The President said, “We must deepen the revenue base of the economy through broader and strategic diversification’
‘’Combating wastage and mismanagement is a crucial component of financial sustainability and the accounting profession does have a sacred responsibility in this regard, sustainability reporting is becoming a growing reporting area in today’s business world.”
In his opening remarks, the 58th President of ICAN, Mallam Tiijani Isa said that the conference has for over five decades provided a unique platform for the intensive interrogation of topical issues of national and global interest.
He stressed that the deliberations in the last past years have not only been diverse but they have delved deeply into critical social, economic, political and governance issues.
He stated, ‘’The 52nd edition of the conference is set against this backdrop, with sustainability currently at the forefront of accounting profession discussions, its importance to economic recovery and significance to safeguarding future prosperity and peace has been the subject of many debates.
“The growing interest in Environmental, Social, and Governance issues and the increasing desire to transit to net-zero businesses provide a strong basis for this Conference.
“Investors are re-evaluating their resources channels because of the consequences of social and economic distortions on growth and development.
“In recent times, there has been a demand for companies to deliver values in more sustainable and responsible ways.
“This has led to a significant shift in the direction of investors’ funds.
To effectively participate in the competitive global space, there is the need for our economy to revisit our environmental, social, and governance priorities.”
He said that Nigeria should consciously deploy resources in creating the regulatory and infrastructural environments that encourage the transition to net-zero business models by enterprises.
This, he stated, would avail the dual advantage of attracting more sustainable funds into the country and enhancing our social license – the perception by stakeholders that businesses and industries are acting in a way that is fair, appropriate, and deserving of trust.
Also speaking the 57th ICAN President, Mrs Comfort Olu Eyitayo said, ‘’It is our collective responsibility to entrench the culture of trust in governance, the social contract across economies would be strengthened when leaders in public or private sectors work with citizens to establish a culture of competence, responsiveness and reliability in the polity.”
