FG: Companies to begin disclosing sustainability-related information in 2024

The federal government says companies operating in the country will begin to disclose their sustainability-related financial information from January 1, 2024.

NAN reports that Shuaibu Ahmed, executive secretary of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN), made the announcement in Abuja on Wednesday.

Ahmed said the initiative, which is in line with the international sustainability standards board, will promote transparency and accountability of financial information to investors.

He said the programme is coming at a time when users of general-purpose financial statements are calling for more transparent, comparable and verifiable sustainability-related financial information.

“This will help investors, lenders, creditors and other stakeholders assess an entity’s enterprise value,” he said.

“We are now in a world where reliable sustainability information is becoming as important as financial information.

“The focus on financial statements is a viable way to an integrated approach to financial information, environmental, social and governance or sustainability information and broader non-financial information.”

Ahmed said the issuance of two sustainability standards – general requirements for disclosure of sustainability-related financial information and climate-related disclosures – would provide investors with knowledge about risks and opportunities facing an entity.

“This will also inform their (investors) decisions on providing resources,’’ he added.

Evelyn Ngige, the permanent secretary at the ministry of industry, trade and investment, commended the agency for setting up the adoption readiness working group to mainstream the sustainability reporting standards.

Ngige who was represented by Baba Alkali, director of policy, planning, research and statistics in the ministry, said the first two standards, when finally issued on June 26, would be implemented by Nigerian private sector entities that apply the international financial reporting standards (IFRS).

She said they are expected to adopt it with the various commencement dates in the standards.

“There is a global understanding that the implementation of IFRS S1 and S2 will enhance corporate reporting and unlock capital, especially in emerging markets like Nigeria,” she said.

“Therefore, I implore all of you to work tirelessly to ensure that these standards are appropriately implemented.”