Temitope Awolusi, Finance Manager, Ford Foundation, West Africa Office
The IFR4NPO Country Champion in Nigeria, Temitope Awolusi recently hosted a meeting for anyone with an interest in non-profit financial reporting. We asked Temitope to share her reflections.
The level of interest is amazing, with 82 people registering, from a really broad range of stakeholder including international and local NPOs, audit firms and donors. Some of the benefits mentioned by participants are that it would lead to consistency and simplification in reporting as well as the credibility of the sector. Smaller NPOs are looking forward to an equal footing for access to funds, and larger NPOs noted the opportunities for bench marking, and a meaningful way to present financial performance.
The stakeholders in Nigeria that are important to this project are the regulatory bodies, as well as the donors, since they drive of accounting and reporting practice of NPOs, albeit that all their requirements are different from each other. It will also be important to engage NPOs themselves and the accounting professional bodies. The main challenges mentioned were the long timescale, engagement of relevant stakeholders and how to ensure compliance.
There was lots of excitement to be part of this great opportunity and to contribute to the development of this Guidance that would have a great impact in this sector. The key message was that we should participate in the consultation process next year.
I learnt that a lot can be achieved collectively as we plan towards the success of this project. I am extremely glad that I am part of this process. The willingness from participants to be part of this project is rewarding and they are looking forward to the next steps.
We are so grateful to Temitope Awolusi and all our Country Champions for their wonderful voluntary service in reaching out to stakeholders all over the world! You can find details of the meeting, including a video recording here.
