The Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRC), under the leadership of Executive Secretary Dr Rabiu Olowo, has intensified efforts to advance sustainability reporting through a series of strategic sensitisation programmes, collaborations, and alignment with global standards.
The council has embarked on comprehensive reforms and engagements with key national institutions, including the Judiciary, the Office of the Accountant-General, the Auditor-General, and the Governors’ Forum, to foster multi-sectoral acceptance of governance reforms.
In a bid to strengthen sustainability reporting, the FRC is working alongside the National Judicial Council (NJC) and the Head of Service to develop the Nigeria Public Sector Governance Code (NPSGC), a three-year initiative spanning 2026 to 2029.
As part of its governance framework development, the council has championed two landmark codes—the Nigeria Public Sector Governance Code and the Not-for-Profit Governance Code (NNFPGC)—which are currently undergoing approval processes.
To consolidate these reforms, the FRC conducted sensitisation sessions with 897 practitioners and convened its inaugural joint session with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN).
The council is finalising its NNFPGC communication strategy and has partnered with ACCA to provide stakeholder training on governance and audit regulations.
Additionally, the FRC has completed and issued the Small and Medium Enterprises Corporate Governance Guidelines (SME-CGG), promoting adoption alongside the Business Integrity Certification (BIC) to enhance corporate ethics and sustainability. Partnerships with the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) and Integrity Organisation Limited are linking governance frameworks to MSME resilience.
In a significant policy breakthrough, the council secured President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s commitment under the Renewed Hope Agenda, leading to Nigeria’s adoption of the IFRS S1 and S2 sustainability standards.
The FRC has launched a roadmap for implementing sustainability reporting standards, with early adoption by banks and multinationals—including Access Bank, Fidelity Bank, MTN, and Seplat Energy—across the 2023 and 2024 reporting cycles, positioning Nigeria among global leaders in sustainability disclosure compliance.
Strategic Memoranda of Understanding have been secured with international bodies such as NIRC, GIZ Germany, Financial Sector Deepening Africa (FSDA), the Pan African Federation of Accountants (PAFA), and the ISSB, ensuring technical alignment and cross-border recognition.
Voluntary adoption of ISSB’s IFRS S1 and S2 standards has surged from four Nigerian entities in 2024 to 35 by October 2025, signalling rapid national acceptance.
The council hosted its second regulatory roundtable on sustainability reporting in August 2025 to further entrench these standards.
Capacity-building initiatives have reached over 202 entities and 1,705 professionals through hands-on training on sustainability disclosure standards, delivered via 32 sector-specific engagements and regulatory roundtables to ensure broad-based participation in the new reporting framework.
