Nigeria Content Online

Some finance
experts in the education sector have warned that corruption and lack of good
corporate governance in business organisations are a threat to national
development.

Soji Apampa, an
Executive Director at Integrity Organisation, a consultancy firm, said that
corruption in business damages the ability of a company to “effectively and
efficiently utilize the resources available.”

Speaking at a
one-day meeting of accountants in education, organised by the Institute of
Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Mr. Apampa said that “corruption has a
negative impact on national development because it makes the people on the
advantage side (close to government) gets richer while those on the disadvantage
side gets poorer.”

Corporate governance

Citing an
example of a corrupt system, he said, “So much is budgeted for education at the
national level but just a faction of it is felt at the local level where it is
supposed to have impact, and that is destroying the quality of education that
is possible.”

Speaking on the
topic “Corporate Governance and Disclosure: The Impact of Corruption and
Accountability on National Development,” he said, “Corporate governance is a
system by which companies are directed and controlled. It is supposedly carried
out by board of directors for the benefit of the company’s operators to provide
direction, authority and oversight management.”

He added that
corporate governance “ensures that the board of directors is accountable for
the pursuit of public objective, and that the corporation itself conforms to
laws and regulations,” he said.

Explaining from
the economic perspective, Mr. Apampa said corporate governance is a tool in
investigating the efficient management of corporations in the use of mechanism
such as contract, organisation design, and legislation. “It also improves
financial performance. It addresses the issue of divorce between ownership and
control of organisations,” he said.

According to
him, the basic tasks of any board are to have foresight, set up strategies,
delegate responsibilities, and providing general oversight for the company.

Mr. Apampa also
said, “a good corporate governance is impossible without appropriate levels of
disclosure that involves dividing to each company’s operator the type of
information to which they have a right.”

He, however,
added that “appropriate disclosure assumes that there will be appropriate
governance of scrutiny” which should enforce accountability.

Speaking on a
similar topic, Ishola Akintoye, Head of the Accounting Department of Olabisi
Onabanjo University, Ogun State, said, “A company where good corporate
governance is expected must have a well-functioning board, accountability, clarity
of purpose, transparency and openness.”

He said the
qualities of good corporate governance are trust, credibility, legitimacy, the
ability to weather crises, a climate and relationships that ensure financial
stability.

Mr. Akintoye
also maintained that “if a company’s process of bringing people to the top is
defective, there will be problem. You cannot create legality out of
illegality.”

Also, Adekunle
Owojori of the Department of Accounting, University of Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State,
said that corporate governance and business ethics that examine immoral
practices.

Mr. Owojori
said for corporate governance to be effective practice, “all audit committee
members must be financially literate.”

Fighting corruption

On how to
combat corruption, he said that a professional and well-motivated civil
service, budget reform, and a strong judiciary system are required. He added
that civil societies and the media also have roles to play.

Meanwhile,
Elizabeth Adegite, the president of ICAN, said that the issue of corporate
governance “is that of change of attitude and reorientation of all Nigerians,
whether professionals or not.”

She said,
“Corporate governance is important to the institution because charter
accountants are in the middle of all these issues. Internal and external
auditors, consultants, chief executive officers, board of directors are charter
accountants. So we must take responsibility as professionals and chart a course
on how to engage in good practice.”

However, she
said that ICAN has a code of conduct for charter accountants.

“If anybody gets wanted
after our investigation, disciplinary actions will be taken appropriately. And
this is why we say the certificate you hold as a charter accountant is the
property of the institute, it can be revoke if indicted.”