For the past three years, there has been a comprehensive transformation of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRC), with the institution repositioned as a more agile, market-facing and internationally engaged regulatory body under the leadership of its Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Rabiu Olowo.
The transformation is anchored on the Digitisation, Operational Excellence, Stakeholder Engagement and Enforcement (DOSE) agenda, which seeks to strengthen the Council’s regulatory architecture, improve audit and corporate governance oversight, accelerate digital regulation, advance sustainability reporting and emerging professional standards, and invest in professional capacity.
The result is a Council with a broader regulatory mandate, stronger institutional infrastructure and a significantly more prominent voice in international standard-setting and regulatory discourse. What was traditionally an institution largely associated with financial reporting and accounting standards is increasingly taking on responsibilities across sustainability, actuarial practice, valuation, audit quality and non-interest financial reporting.
One of the defining aspects of Olowo’s tenure has been the expansion of the Council’s regulatory architecture. This included operationalising the Directorates of Actuarial and Valuation Standards, establishing the Sustainability Reporting Unit and bringing the FRC to its full seven-Directorate structure for the first time.
The restructuring is significant because the demands on financial regulators have changed considerably. Investors, businesses, financial institutions and other stakeholders increasingly require reliable information not only about corporate financial performance but also about governance, risk management, environmental exposure and long-term business sustainability.
For the FRC, expanding its institutional capacity has therefore been necessary to respond to the changing expectations of the financial reporting environment and ensure that Nigerian standards and regulatory practices remain relevant to developments in international markets.
The Council’s work on sustainability reporting has become one of the most visible aspects of this transformation, placing Nigeria among the countries taking practical steps to align corporate disclosures with internationally recognised standards.
Presently, the Council is at the forefront of sustainability reporting in Africa, having secured national stakeholder support for the adoption of IFRS S1 and IFRS S2 and launched Nigeria’s Sustainability Reporting Roadmap in collaboration with the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB).
The two standards are particularly important in the changing global business environment. IFRS S1 establishes requirements for disclosing sustainability-related financial risks and opportunities, while IFRS S2 focuses specifically on climate-related disclosures. Together, they are designed to provide investors and other stakeholders with comparable information about how sustainability issues could affect the financial performance and long-term prospects of businesses.
Nigeria’s adoption of the standards represents an important development for the country’s financial reporting environment, particularly as international investors increasingly consider environmental and climate-related risks when making investment decisions.
The FRC further strengthened the initiative in February 2026 by unveiling an amended Sustainability Reporting Roadmap and Sustainability Reporting Guideline 1, providing additional clarity on implementation requirements, reporting timelines, assurance expectations and the preparedness of regulated entities.
In a bid to reach thousands of professionals and ensure that the transition is supported by adequate technical expertise, the Council established the Sustainability Reporting Unit and embarked on extensive capacity-building programmes. Its efforts have included training professionals, engaging corporate organisations and working with regulators, professional bodies and development partners to improve understanding of sustainability disclosure requirements.
These efforts culminated in Nigeria receiving the UNCTAD-ISAR Leadership in Sustainability Reporting Honour in 2025, making it the only African country recognised in that year’s national category. The recognition acknowledged the Council’s work in developing a credible sustainability reporting framework, promoting stakeholder collaboration and advancing the adoption of international standards.
The recognition was reinforced in October 2026 when the FRC received the ISAR Honours for the second consecutive year, this time for its National Corporate Reporting Knowledge and Digital Reporting Platform, further raising Nigeria’s profile in global corporate reporting.
On audit quality enforcement and market credibility, Olowo strengthened the FRC’s transition from standard-setting to active regulatory oversight through comprehensive Audit Quality Reviews of 16 audit firms, including the Big Four, covering 143 audit engagements.
The Council also introduced the Non-Compliance with Laws and Regulations (NOCLAR) framework under FRC Rule 14, commenced the implementation of Internal Control over Financial Reporting (ICFR) and launched the National Audit and Assurance Firms Register.
These measures are designed to strengthen the quality of financial statements, improve the accountability of auditors and ensure that corporate reporting provides a more reliable basis for investment and business decisions.
Audit quality is particularly important in a market where investors, lenders, shareholders and regulators depend on independently verified financial information to assess the performance and financial position of companies. Weak audit practices can undermine confidence in reported earnings, expose businesses to financial and governance risks and weaken the credibility of the wider capital market.
By increasing its oversight activities and improving the registration and monitoring of audit firms, the FRC is seeking to make compliance more effective and reinforce professional accountability across the audit and assurance industry.
The Council has also invested in institutional infrastructure. After more than 44 years without a permanent home, it secured and developed a modern corporate headquarters, FRC House, marking a defining milestone in its institutional evolution.
Commissioned in September 2026, the new headquarters in Ikeja, Lagos, provides a permanent institutional base and modern infrastructure commensurate with the Council’s expanded mandate and growing regulatory responsibilities. The development also represents an important step towards improving its operational environment and engagement with regulated entities, professional bodies, investors and other stakeholders.
The Council’s initiatives have also extended to education and professional development, reaching over 5,000 university students and 800 secondary school students through actuarial education programmes.
In order not to leave any aspect of the financial reporting ecosystem unattended, the Council has secured Nigeria’s membership of the International Valuation Standards Council (IVSC). It has also developed and exposed Nigeria’s first Valuation Regulations and advanced revised Valuation Standards aligned with international best practice.
The development is important given the increasing relevance of accurate asset valuation to investment decisions, financial reporting, taxation, lending and corporate transactions. Reliable valuation standards provide a common basis for determining the worth of assets and liabilities, reducing inconsistencies that could affect the credibility of financial statements and commercial transactions.
In actuarial practice, the FRC established the Nigerian Actuarial Development Programme, adopted International Standards of Actuarial Practice (ISAPs) 1-8 for localisation as Nigerian Standards of Actuarial Practice and developed the Nigeria Actuarial Practice Regulation (NAPR 2025) as an Exposure Draft.
These initiatives are intended to deepen local actuarial expertise and strengthen the professional framework supporting insurance, pensions, risk management and other sectors where actuarial assessments are essential.
Additionally, its sustainability programmes have trained more than 1,700 professionals and engaged over 200 entities. The inaugural Leadership Summit for Auditors attracted more than 760 participants, while the Council launched Nigeria’s first Journal of Financial Reporting and Corporate Governance in July 2025.
The journal provides an academic and professional platform for research, policy discussions and knowledge exchange across financial reporting, auditing, assurance, valuation and corporate governance. Its establishment also addresses the need for stronger local research and intellectual contributions to the development of professional standards and regulatory practice.
The FRC has also expanded its regulatory community and deepened collaboration across Nigeria’s financial ecosystem, with 34,372 professionals, 1,359 firms and 14,929 companies registered with the Council.
Strategic relationships have been strengthened with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN), Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV), ISSB, Pan African Federation of Accountants (PAFA), UNCTAD and the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), among other professional bodies, regulators and development partners.
The partnerships provide a broader platform for regulatory cooperation, professional development, knowledge exchange and the alignment of Nigerian practices with international standards.
Olowo’s emergence as Chair of the 41st Session of UNCTAD-ISAR also placed a Nigerian regulator at the centre of global discussions on financial reporting, sustainability and corporate transparency. He concluded his tenure in November 2025 and was subsequently confirmed in July 2026 as Nigeria’s representative to ISAR.
The Council has simultaneously strengthened African regulatory cooperation and advanced the UK-Nigeria Enhanced Trade and Investment Partnership (ETIP), particularly in efforts towards regulatory equivalence and mutual recognition of audit qualifications. Such cooperation could improve professional mobility, facilitate cross-border business relationships and strengthen confidence in the qualifications of Nigerian audit professionals.
Another emerging area of the Council’s regulatory activities is non-interest financial services, where it is seeking to develop standards that reflect the distinctive nature of Islamic financial transactions.
Recognising the unique nature of Non-Interest Financial Institutions’ (NIFIs) transactions and products, the Council inaugurated a Technical Working Group in April 2026 to conduct a gap analysis between International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) Standards and develop a framework that adequately reflects the Shariah substance of non-interest financial transactions.
On October 11, 2026, the Council signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with AAOIFI in Manama, Bahrain, to advance research, capacity building and knowledge development in non-interest finance.
The agreement was signed during AAOIFI’s 24th Annual Shari’ah Boards Conference and provides a framework for cooperation on standards adoption, professional development and knowledge sharing involving preparers, assurance providers and regulators.
The Technical Working Group has also developed a proposed National Framework for the Integration of AAOIFI Standards, which will be issued as an Exposure Draft for stakeholder comments ahead of implementation.
The initiative is expected to address reporting gaps that may arise when conventional accounting standards are applied to financial products structured around Shariah principles. It also provides an opportunity to strengthen the reporting framework for Nigeria’s growing non-interest financial services sector and improve confidence among investors and other market participants.
Three years into Dr. Rabiu Olowo’s tenure, the transformation of the Financial Reporting Council is evident not simply in the number of new standards, regulations, systems or programmes introduced, but in the breadth and ambition of the institution that has emerged.
The FRC has expanded beyond its traditional financial reporting mandate into sustainability, valuation, actuarial practice, corporate governance and non-interest finance. It has strengthened its enforcement capabilities, embraced digital regulation, invested in professional capacity and assumed a more visible role in international standard-setting.
However, the real test of these reforms will be their consistent implementation and the extent to which they improve the quality of corporate disclosures, strengthen audit credibility, promote regulatory compliance and increase investor confidence.
From building its regulatory architecture to strengthening enforcement, from manual processes to digital systems and from national participation to global leadership, the FRC is building an institution designed not only to regulate today’s financial reporting environment but also to shape tomorrow’s professional and regulatory standards.
Its growing international recognition, expanded institutional capacity and broader regulatory reach suggest that the Council is increasingly positioning itself as a significant player in Africa’s evolving financial reporting and sustainability ecosystem.
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