Bankers, accountants partner on productivity

Olowu pledges ethics, professionalism in industry

The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) has entered into partnership with the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants (AICPA) to enhance productivity in the banking sector.At the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the Bankers’ House, in Lagos, the President and Chairman of Council, CIBN, Uche Messiah Olowu, explained that the essence of the collaboration is to scale up the skills-set of members.

According to Olowu, the collaboration became necessary because better-equipped skilled force will enhance productivity in banking sector and by extension the economy as a whole.Stating that the response has been significant so far, the CIBN boss stressed that the institute is going to partner with more strategic institutions that will drive more values to members.

On some bankers that are yet to register with the institute, Olowu said: “If they don’t write the examinations, the competency framework will catch up with them. Our focus is to bring everybody together. Our Act is that of the parliament, therefore, we will pursue with our strengths to ensure that rules and standards, ethics, manners and governance rules are respected.”

Responding, the Regional Vice President, Africa, AICPA, Badibanga Promesse, who was represented by Associate Director, Ijeoma Anadozie, said: “We see a lot of capacity building not only with certification but with other short courses with research and technology.“It is about us working together and driving finance with best practices and ensuring that on both sides, bankers are world class. With the collaboration, both groups have a lot to offer.”

Meanwhile, the newly sworn-in President and Chairman of Council of CIBN, Olowu has promised to enthrone ethics, professionalism and transparency in the banking industry.Olowu who stated this during his investiture as the 20th President of the institute stressed that the sector lacked proper skills-set, but assured of taking certifications on enterprise risk management as major focus.

The new CIBN boss said his tenure would focus on five key strategic areas, which include rules and standards, skills and competences, research and advocacy, technology and resources, and brand visibility.According to Olowu, “It is a new dawn for banking in Nigeria because we are playing at the global stage as chairman of global banking education standards board. So, it means we have to up our ante in terms of right knowledge, skill and quality to our stakeholders and also have proactive intervention policies to the government and the judiciary.

Olowu took over the leadership of the CIBN from Segun Ajibola to oversee affairs of the Institute for the next two years.He is expected to bring his knowledge to bear on the Institute, having served in various capacities both in the Institute and the banking industry.Until his investiture, Olowu who has over 30 years’ experience in the industry was the First Vice President and Chairman, Board of Fellows and Practice Licenses of the Institute.

In his remarks, the immediate-past President of the institute, Prof. Segun Ajibola, said banks and other corporate institutions must leverage on Enterprise Risk Management (ERM), an integrated approach to managing risks.Ajibola advised that banks should, from time to time, identify risks, evolve ways of managing and mitigating these risks so that when the risk crystallise, the negative impact on such bank will not be too phenomenal.

“This is what we cannot as a country avoid today and that is why we are pleading and preaching EMR, which will help to identify the problem before they arise, enable you to police your system in a way that it will not become vulnerable to all forms of risks.“Banks and corporate institutions should buy into them, invest and deploy them so that the negative impact of this risk on the banks, corporate institutions and Nigerian economy will not be devastating,” he said.