Friday, August 14, 2015

KPMG, PWC To Audit Account of NNPC, CBN, Customs, others


TWO international audit firms – KPMG and Price
water house Cooper (PwC) – were yesterday
appointed by the Federal Government to examine
the books of the Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation (NNPC) and other revenue generating
agencies.
They are to forensically audit the accounts of the
NNPC, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS),
Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) and other
revenue generating agencies.
Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole made the
disclosure after the meeting of the committee of
five set up by the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo-
led National Economic Council (NEC).
The committee, which has Oshiomhole as its
chair, has governors Ibrahim Dakwambo (Gombe),
Nasiru El-Rufai (Kaduna) and Udom Emmanuel
(Akwa Ibom) as members.
Oshiomhole said appointment of the firms was to
allow for professionalism.
He said that the revenue generating agencies
were supposed to remit their revenues to the
Federation Account in line with Sections 80 and
162 of the 1999 Constitution.
Oshiomhole said: “Having looked at the size of
the assignment and the issues that have been
raised, we are convinced that we need a
professional approach. And so, we have decided
to appoint two audit firms including KPMG and
PWC to carry out a forensic audit of all the
agencies under reference and to establish all the
facts that we need.
“And at the end of the exercise, government will
decide what to do with the findings of the audit
firms. Like we said last week, we are doing this
first because we are sitting governors. Even if we
are not sitting governors, some of us are not
professional accountants.
“We expect that the audit firms will carry out a
professional work. We are convinced they have
what it takes to do it and their findings will help
government first to lay out new rules to ensure
that the laws of the land are complied with. And if
anything has gone wrong, identify who has done
what. And then we take it from there.”
A time-frame was not given for the auditors’
assignment but Oshiomhole said they had been
told to be fast and thorough in the discharge of
their duties without compromising standards.
While disclosing that KPMG declined to do the
auditing when approached by the administration
of
former President Goodluck Jonathan as the
political environment was not conducive, he said
PwC which agreed to do the job then confirmed
that some organisations refused to open their
books.
“There is room now to do a more thorough audit
because we now have a completely new political
environment. We have a president that is
absolutely committed to transparency and one
that has demonstrated enormous political will to
ensure that these public institutions are run, not
only in compliance with the laws of the land, but
they are run on the basis of international best
practices.
“I think the audit companies, this time around,
will have no excuse. We expect all those involved
to cooperate. This is not about finding out what
is right, or wrong, it is about making Nigeria work
for the benefit of Nigeria.
“And we have to bear in mind in other climes
governments are not run on the basis of
collections from crude oil, government regardless
of their colour, or political affiliation. They are
funded exclusively through taxes.
“And so if you have tax generating agencies that
are not remitting money, government can’t run
like that. So, on the long run, Nigeria has to live
on taxes.
“First, it is not about yesterday, it is more about
tomorrow. Nigeria can’t continue with business
as usual. And that is why ‘change’ is the word in
President Buhari’s promise to Nigerians.”
On whether his committee has the power to
appoint the two audit firms, he said, it derives its
powers from the mandate given to it by the NEC.
The government agencies at the committee’s
session yesterday included: the Nigerian Maritime
Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA),
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Department of
Petroleum Resources (DPR), FIRS, Security and
Exchange Commission (SEC), NCS, Ministry of
Finance and the Office of the Accountant-General
of the Federation.
The Nation

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