The Chairman, Federal Civil Service Commission ( FCSC), Prof. Tunji Olaopa, has urged accountants to contribute more to the nation’s economic development and governance.
The professor of public administration made the call in Abuja on Tuesday at the 2025 Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN ) National Conference.
Noting the centrality of accounting to national development, Olaopa urged members of the profession at the conference to think out of the box and boldly interrogate ” new frontiers that are required to strengthen public sector financial management systems as we consolidate democratic accountability, minimize waste in resource management and contain the cost of governance so the expanding revenue accruing to the nation can be invested to drive growth and be catalytic in funding the national infrastructure development master plan that is already shaping Nigeria’s narrative so profoundly”
He acknowledged the importance of national accounting in providing the data to track economic health, enabling informed policy-making and resource allocation. According to him, accounting serves as a framework for understanding a nation’s overall economic structure, measuring activity, and identifying areas for improvement.
“This information supports decisions on issues like taxation, interest rates, and infrastructure spending, and it fosters transparency and accountability, attracting investment and improving economic stability”, he said.
Consequently , he stated that the gathering of professional accountants to reflect on the gatekeeping responsibilities of one of the two topmost regulatory bodies in a country as expansive as Nigeria would be unarguably a significant event.
He said : ” It is especially significant at a time when our country is taking the benefit of the accounting wizardry of HE the President in many senses that, with all humility, cannot pass the eagle eye of a policy scholar and institutional reformer like me.”
Olaopa specifically acknowledged the expertise that was involved in producing the Tax Reform Act and ” its potential to stimulate growth in priority sectors, ease the cost of doing business and improve the investment climate in Nigeria. And that of course is clear credit to the professionalism of the accounting profession through its numerous fellows in President Tinubu’s kitchen cabinet .”
However, he decried a situation where institutional reform has been impactful in the public sector accounting system while it remains the weakest link in overall national governance performance index.
“And this should be of concern to ANAN and other professional gatekeeping bodies. Capacity to identify and manage gaps in financial management controls especially as it touches on the strengthening of the audit function and legislative oversight remains a challenge that should test the professionalism of accountants”, he said.
Stressing the need for the accounting profession to brace for innovations and new challenges , Olaopa noted that “skills issues for public sector accountants would demand capacity development in trend analysis to catch up with the rate at which technology is shaping the frontiers of accounting practices, especially to catch up with the speed at which artificial intelligence and automation tools are streamlining financial processes and application to keep improving efficiency in government accounting.”
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