The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) has advised the World Bank to approve loans to the federal and state governments in Nigeria based on their performance rankings on the ICAN Accountability Index.
During a courtesy visit to the Country Director of the World Bank, Mr. Chubham Chaudhuri, ICAN President Dr. Innocent Okwuosa emphasized the importance of the ICAN Accountability Index as a tool for public financial management. The index was initiated by ICAN to promote best practices in Public Finance Management (PFM) across all three tiers of government.
Dr. Okwuosa expressed concerns about corruption, lack of accountability, and poor public financial management within Nigeria's economic system, stating that the achievement of UN sustainable development goals is hindered under such circumstances. In its public interest mandate, ICAN aims to play a significant role in improving public sector financial management and accountability in Nigeria.
The ICAN Accountability Index has been recognized as a comprehensive framework, better suited for Nigeria than other similar initiatives such as the Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability and the States Fiscal Transparency, Accountability, and Sustainability Frameworks. It encompasses five pillars, 25 indicators, and 70 dimensions that are applied to the federal, state, and local governments.
To enhance their performance on the ICAN Accountability Index, it is crucial for the government tiers to make financial data publicly available, enabling the Institute to compute the Index effectively. ICAN urged stakeholders at the federal, state, and local levels to cooperate with ICAN-AI Assessors during their visits to ministries, departments, and agencies to gather relevant data, in addition to online sources.
The institute commended the entities for making positive progress in providing financial information. In the 2020 assessment, an average of 50% of the required information was provided across various levels of government, compared to 35% and 28% in 2019 and 2018, respectively.
In 2021, the availability rate increased to 53%, indicating a growing awareness and improved compliance with laws and regulations mandating the availability of such information to stakeholders in Nigeria.
Dr. Okwuosa sought the collaboration of the World Bank to ensure compliance with best practices in Public Finance Management in Nigeria through the implementation of the ICAN Accountability Index.
