NAICOM queries firms over non – submission of accounts
Insurance regulator, the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has written to board chairmen of insurance companies that were yet to submit their 2012 International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) nine months into the year, having been given June 30 deadline for submission of returns.
As at November 4, 2013 only 47 insurance companies have submitted their full year IFRS audited financial accounts, out of which 23 has secured approval while 14 were yet to submit.
Fola Daniel, commissioner for insurance, made the disclosure at the 2013 Seminar for Insurance Correspondents held in Ilorin, Kwara State.
Daniel regretted that despite all the efforts put in by the Commission to orientate companies and the chief financial officers on compliance with IFRS accounts, some of the insurance companies were yet to submit their accounts.
According to him, though it is not NAICOM’s core responsibility to train organisations for compliance, the regulatory body has organised series of workshops and seminars for concerned officers of the companies, and has established a help desk department in the Commission to assist them where there are challenges.
“IFRS compliance is not a project of NAICOM, rather it is a national project which regulators are only keying in to implement. What we will not do is to pass or approve any company’s accounts that is not credible or reliable because it is not only consumed by Nigeria; it is also consumed by international investors.”
Daniel said “it is not good for us as a country, it is worse for us as regulators; so we cannot pass an account that will be questioned because we will sign on it.” Nicholas Okpara, director, supervision in NAICOM said the Commission would soon begin to deal with audit firms that do not do their work professionally in the insurance companies’ accounts.
According to Okpara, some of the auditors do not do proper examination of the accounts, and will just collect money and append their signature.
“We have reported such auditors to the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria and the Nigerian Accounting Standard Board and the next thing will be to delist them from auditing insurance company’s accounts.
Speaking on the theme of the seminar “Imperatives of Financial Literacy & Inclusion,” the Commission said the subject has been carefully selected based on continuing developments in the realm of inclusive insurance in the country.
According to the Commission, this has become necessary as part of effort to increase insurance penetration and enhance the sector’s contribution to the nation’s GDP.
Babajide Oniwinde, head, corporate strategy, NAICOM in his presentation on financial literacy, said the challenge with acceptance of insurance as a financial product is a combination of three factors knowledge, behaviour and attitude.
He said a lot of efforts were being put in place by the Commission and in collaboration with other regulators, educational institutions and key ministries to launch out a nationwide educational campaign on financial inclusion.
By: Modestus Anaesoronye