The Nigerian Accountant 2012 October/December Edition

Conferenceregularly so as to clarify the reason behind the decisions takenby the CBN as a regulator. A recent example is the case of theintroduction of the N5000 note denomination.31. In his reaction and discussion of the submission of MrSoare and the CBN Governor, Sir S.N. Nwosu of ISAN agreedthat trust is key to the functioning of markets. He asserted thatnot minding the recent local and global capital market meltdown,capitalism as a market model is fundamentally sound. However,for capitalism to work, trust and confidence needs to be rebuiltinto the system. He stated that regulators must be above reproachand must deal with all players equitably and in good faith. ICANmembers must be above board in their dealings and avoid conflictof interest.32. Mr. Haruna Jalo Waziri of the NSE who represented MrOscar Onyema, Director General/CEO Nigerian Stock Exchangeexpressed the view that the NSE was actively putting in placeprocesses to ensure that reports presented by listed companiesmeet the minimum acceptable standards prescribed by regulationand best practice.33. WORKSHOP 1:“Entrepreneurship: Empowering the Nigerian Youths”Past President Chief (Mrs.) O.O. Olakunrin, OFR, chairedthe workshop. The two disccussants who presented papersand responded to questions from the audience were Mr PeterBamkole, Director of the Enterprise Development Centre of thePan African University and Mr Victor Gbolade Osibodu, MFR,Chairman and CEO Vigeo Holdings Limited.At the end of the workshop a number of key informationemerged:• Despite the apparent state of underdevelopment andinfrastructure challenges in Nigeria, huge opportunitiesexist for prosperity for those who know how to turnproblems into opportunities.• It is in the mist of challenges that business opportunitiesemerge which are geared towards solving thoseproblems.•Nigeria has a fast growing and youthful population inthe face of rising unemployment. The focus shouldtherefore shift towards entrepreneurship.• Education curriculum across all levels should begin toemphasise entrepreneurship so that youths areempowered to take their destiny in their own hands.•Funds should be setup to ease the access of goodideas to appropriate funding.• Successful entrepreneurs should be willing to mentoraspiring and young entrepreneurs.34. WORKSHOP 2:“Whistle Blowing: Setting a Framework for Corporateand Public Accountability”Major-General Sebastian Owuama (rtd.), Past Presidentchaired a panel of erudite discussants comprising Mr. FemiFalana, SAN, a renowned legal practitioner and civil rightsactivists; Mrs. Obiageli Ezekwesili, former Vice President forAfrica, World Bank; Dr Kingsley Moghalu, Deputy Governor(FSS) Central Bank of Nigeria; and Senator (Dr.) Patrick AyoAkinyelure, FCA.In her presentation, Mrs Ezekwesili articulated the view thatthe process of proposing a whistleblowing bill (WBB) must bepreceded by a careful diagnostics evaluation of the scope andimpact of such a bill. She demonstrated clearly to the audiencethat members of the institute have perhaps not fully explored thelegal tools available to assist members in achieving the objectivesthat the WBB is meant to achieve, namely the exposing of fraudand the reduction of corruption. One of such tools is the Freedomof Information Act (FIA).Mr Femi Falana acknowledged that ICAN was perhaps themost progressive professional body by initiating the bold moveof proposing such a bill, but challenged ICAN and its membersto clean-up its house as it were by ensuring that it exposes anddisciplines its members who have acted in contravention ofthe tenets of the profession. He argued that laws alone are notenough to rid the country of corruption if there is no moral willon the part of professionals to expose or whistleblow when theybecome aware of corruption and fraudulent practices. He statedthat he was willing to provide free legal support to the instituteand its members if there is a clear case of corruption and fraudto be exposed.Dr Moghalu was in agreement with the other discussants andadvised that ICAN should consult widely to ensure that the outputof its proposed WBB is robust enough to achieve its intendedobjectives. He gave the examples of the collapse of Enron andWorldCom in the United States as examples of the result ofwhistleblowing. He suggested however that whistleblowing willnot happen just because a law protecting whistle blowers is inplace, except the right kind of incentives are also put in place toencourage whistleblowing. Whistleblowing comes with a lot ofpersonal and financial risk and the incentive for whistleblowingmust be considerably higher than the risk for the system towork. He informed his audience that the CBN has in place awhistleblowing guideline that it regularly updates. He concludedhis presentation by stating that the CBN would give ICAN all thesupport it requires in ensuring that the bill is put in place.Senator (Dr) Patrick Ayo Akinyelure, FCA, was in agreementwith his co-panellist and suggested that everyone must beprepared to blow the whistle no matter the cost if the nation isto reduce the incidence of corruption.35. WORKSHOP 3:“Doing Business in Nigeria: Fiscal, Legislative andJudicial challengesUnder the chairmanship of Mr. Emmanuel Ijewere, a panel ofdiscussants comprising Ms Marie Francoise Marie-Nelly of theWorld Bank; Mr Fabian Ajogwu, SAN; and Wale Ajayi, PartnerKPMG Tax came to the following conclusions about doingbusiness in Nigeria:• While huge opportunities for doing business exists inNigeria, the opportunities are not being fully exploitedTHE NIGERIAN ACCOUNTANT 7October/December, 2012