NSE Trains Management on IFRS

NSE President, Balarabe Shehu, FNSE

In the spirit of the Japanese dictum, Kaizen (continuous improvement) and in line with its operating policies, the Nigerian Society of Engineers took its management staff through a week-long training on International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), spanning 5^th – 8^th February, 2013.

IFRS is the standard of financial reporting instituted by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and enforced by the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN), to serve as an upgrade from the hitherto adopted Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). It will be recalled that the federal government of Nigeria had backed this enforcement with an Act of the National Assembly since 2011, stipulating penalties for non-compliance.

Companies, financial institutions, professional bodies, not-for-profit organizations and all Public Interest Entities (PIEs) are expected to adopt IFRS at certain stipulated timelines, but perhaps the most interesting tinge to NSE’s adoption is that all members of management cutting across various professions – Engineering, Accounting, Law, Human Resource, Communications, etc. – participated in the training. The total compliance date for organizations like NSE is December 2013.

While declaring the training session open, NSE President, Engr. Mustapha Balarabe Shehu, FNSE, applauded the virtues of knowledge exchange which the NSE – IFRS training signified. He said he had always held the belief that if knowledge is hoarded then the custodian of such knowledge is invariably ignorant; noting that the ability to disseminate knowledge effectively across professional barriers makes the society a more enlightened one.

He gave kudos to the facilitators of the training programme, Analytic Secure Associates, a consortium of Chartered Accountants and financial experts for thinking in the same direction as the management of the Nigerian Society of Engineers.

Engr. Dr. Tunde Olatunji, FNSE, the Director of Professional Development Services of NSE, in a vote of thanks at the end of the training session, described the training as very illuminating. He commended the trainers and noted that the model deployed was captivating enough to command the attention and assimilation of the trainees. He went on to thank the NSE management for the initiative.

The training was concluded on February 8, 2013 and the first certificate was presented to the Executive Secretary, Engr. Ahmed K. Amshi, FNSE, by Mr. Ayo Taylor of Analytics Secure Associates. The Executive Secretary in turn presented certificates to other participants.