About 60 managing directors of microfinance banks (MFBs) who gathered recently at the capacity building organised by the National Association of Microfinance Banks (NAMB) Lagos State chapter, in conjunction with Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN), were dully informed about the concept, requirements and compliance with the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).
The first step towards the IFRS compliance is that microfinance bank as an institution and the directors will have to register with the FRCN.
“The way forward now is to engage the FRC to do the registration for the basic requirement for the institution and directors while we keep engaging them for the conversion or for the extension. Now, we have done the sensitisation on the basic requirement for our MDs and we have almost over 60 MDs that came for the training,” Valentine Whensu, chairman, NAMB LAG, told BusinessDay after the training.
Being that the cost of converting to the new standard of reporting is huge, MFBs are now devising means of getting this done at a less costly rate.
“What we heard here today and what we know we can do is that instead of employing consultants, we have so many fellows of chartered accountants in our midst and so we want to form a task-force within us who we can engage the FRCN and ensure that we can do it at the barest minimum for members. This idea of a flat rate for unit, state and national microfinance bank should not be and that is one of the things we will achieved if we have the task-force within us and we can replicate it in all our banks at a cheaper rate,” he said.
Olumuyiwa Ajibade, representative of FRCN, told participants at the training that the FRCN was ready to support MFBs, saying “we are not out to make life difficult for any operator but to ensure some sanity in the sub-sector as well as protection of investors.”
One of the participants, Jacob Ajayi, managing director, Owotutu Microfinance Bank Limited, Lagos, said: “All the MDs present have benefited on the way we are going to present our account and the requirements needed, but we are asked to register first with FRCN after which we now start to present our account with the new standard. The requirement is so long, I cannot say specifically when I am going start but the presentation of the annual account is going to be next year. The immediate need will be on monthly preparation of our returns. We have set up committee to work on it and assist all the microfinance bank. So, as soon as they meet we commence, and that will be next month.”
Also speaking with BusinessDay, Wale Adeleke, managing director, Corestep Microfinance Bank Limited, Lagos, said: “It is gladden to know that the association is doing so much. The man from FRCN has thrown a lot of light on this on how to go about it – step by step. We did not know we have to register before we implement, but now we know it is the step ahead and we are all willing to do that. At the end of the day, MFBs will have to spend less because we are looking at how to take advantage of the numbers, and those that are specialists among us are ready to render their technical assistance.”
HOPE MOSES-ASHIKE
