EFCC Boss, Ibrahim Lamorde
Obinna Chima
The Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN) has disclosed plans to collaborate with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in investigating fraud cases in the country.
A statement quoted the President of ANAN, Mrs. Maryam Ladi Ibrahim, to have said this at a recent workshop on forensic accounting, auditing and fraud investigation held in Abuja.
The two-day workshop was jointly organised by ANAN and ENS Forensics Limited, South Africa, a subsidiary of Edward Nathan Sonnenbergs.
The ANAN president that the workshop was meant for selected few seasoned members of the association who were practitioners. According to her, “We feel that the time has come for us to really assist government in the interest of the Nigerian economy by collaborating with organisations that government has put in place to fight corruption.
“The practitioners are there to assist in investigation and this workshop is meant for members that are in core practice to now collaborate with EFCC and ICPC to assist the system in the various investigations the organisations are carrying out.”
She stressed that the task would be enormous for the EFCC and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) alone.
“They need to collaborate with the practitioners,” Ibrahim said, adding that “true professional accountants would not want to smear their names. Those perpetrated corruption are not true professionals.”
Ibrahim lamented the high rate of corruption in the country, saying that government should have the political will to deal with issues of corruption. On whistle-blowing, she said the association had presented a paper to the National Assembly.
“The whistle blower must be sure of the whistle he or she is blowing and once he is sure, God will be that person’s protector,” Ibrahim said.
She explained that the association had its in-house structure on whistle-blowing, adding that its members were being encouraged to blow the whistle as much as possible as long as they were sure of their information.
The Managing Director of ENS Forensics Limited, South Africa, Mr. Steven Powell, said corruption had been a big challenge in Nigeria.
The Nigerian Professional Accountant 