A Proposed Rule - Roadmap for the Adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in Nigeria: A Research Based Perspective on FGN, NASB & SEC

The Nigerian Accounting Standards Board (NASB) issued a timeline and a roadmap for the proper adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) by companies operating in the country. We really shed more light and detail assertions on the key issues raised by the government proposal, we proposed that the need for a globalised accounting standards or externality is highly overstated. A globalised and widely accepted accounting regulator is unlikely to help achieve the stated goals of comparability and consistency of financial reporting bearing in mind the nature and economic situation of the country. We posit that, Nigerian companies should be given the opportunity to choose the use of either Nigerian GAAP or IFRS rather than imposing one global monopoly set of standards that is designed to suit the need of developed countries. We concluded that, focus on auditing and investigation is very important which deserve the attention of all and sundry especially from the standards setting bodies if the aim of financial reporting will be realized in the future, for the absolute gains or benefits associated from the adoption of IFRS, which is a principle - based accounting standards are likely to be achieved only if auditors are principle - based in nature. We therefore recommend that, the federal government through the NASB or the SEC to re - consider the implications of its proposal to work hand in hand with the Federal ministry of education and the Nigerian professional bodies, such as Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, Nigerian College of Accountancy, Institute of Chartered Taxation of Nigeria etc, so that more attention will be accorded to educational judgments.