The Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRC) is facing fresh questions from the House of Representatives over the financial statements of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), following concerns raised by former Special Investigator, Jim Obazee.
The latest development has widened the scrutiny of the apex bank's 2024 and 2025 accounts, with the House seeking documents and explanations that could shed light on the accounting and regulatory processes behind the financial statements.
The House, through its Committee on Delegated Legislation chaired by Hon. Richard Olufemi Bamisile, is seeking relevant records from the FRC concerning the CBN's audited consolidated and separate financial statements for the years ended December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2025.
The committee's intervention comes against the backdrop of issues raised by Obazee over the financial reporting of the apex bank.
Obazee had raised concerns over several aspects of the CBN's financial reporting, including the treatment of its Deferred Foreign Exchange Revaluation Account (DFERA), reported at about ₦13.7 trillion.
His findings also drew attention to the treatment of the Federal Government's overdraft, deferred costs and the accounting distinction between realised and unrealised foreign-exchange gains and losses.
The issues raised broader questions about the accounting treatment of significant items in the CBN's financial statements and the framework applied in reporting them.
With the House now seeking information from the FRC, attention has shifted to the regulatory trail behind the accounts.
At the centre of the latest parliamentary intervention is the role of the FRC in the financial reporting process.
The committee is seeking relevant documents and approvals relating to the CBN's 2024 and 2025 audited consolidated and separate financial statements.
It is also requesting the financial reporting framework or manual applicable to the preparation of the accounts, alongside other relevant documents held by the Council.
The requested records could help lawmakers establish the accounting framework applied to the statements and the regulatory processes that accompanied their preparation and publication.
They could also clarify the respective roles of the CBN, its external auditors and the FRC in the financial reporting process.
The FRC's involvement comes as scrutiny of the CBN's financial disclosures has widened.
Earlier concerns had focused on the publication of summary financial statements rather than the complete audited accounts and accompanying audit disclosures, including the auditors' report and Key Audit Matters.
Questions have also been raised over audit-related and non-audit engagements involving the firms responsible for examining the CBN's financial statements.
The House committee's demand for records from the FRC could therefore provide another piece of the documentary trail lawmakers are examining.
The latest development represents a shift from the issues raised in Obazee's report to the processes surrounding the CBN's financial reporting.
The committee is seeking to establish what accounting framework was applied, what regulatory processes were followed and what documentation exists to support the 2024 and 2025 financial statements.
The September 16 correspondence to the FRC is the latest stage in the parliamentary scrutiny, with lawmakers seeking documentary evidence to assist their examination of the accounts.
The request does not, by itself, establish that the CBN's financial statements are invalid or that the FRC, the apex bank, its auditors or any individual breached the law.
Rather, the committee is seeking the underlying records as it examines the accounting, auditing and regulatory processes surrounding the accounts.
The FRC's response could now provide lawmakers with further information on its role in the preparation, review and reporting of the CBN's 2024 and 2025 financial statements.
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