The President, Institute of Chartered Accountants of
Nigeria, Prof. Francis Ojaide, will in the next few days make a
pronouncement on the indictment of two audit firms, Akintola Williams
Deloitte and Company and Adekanola and Company, by the House of
Representatives Ad-Hoc Committee on the Management of the Fuel Subsidy
Fund.
The Assistant Director, Corporate Affairs, ICAN, Mr.
Dayo Ajigbotosho, said in a telephone interview with our correspondent
on Tuesday, “In every organisation, there is hierarchy, and it is the
president that can make pronouncements on the issue at hand. He is
currently on a foreign trip and we expect him back this week. As soon as
he comes back, he will make a statement on the issue.”
Meanwhile, following the recommendation of the
committee and the subsequent sacking of audit firms by the Ministry of
Finance, the management of Akintola Williams Deloitte said on Tuesday
that its scope in the management of the subsidy fund was limited.
The firm said the audit process was not designed by it, hence its inability to totally evaluate the process end-to-end.
The House committee’s report had indicted the firm
for “professional incompetence” and recommended that it should be
blacklisted from being engaged by any federal ministry, department or
agency for a period of three years.
Speaking to newsmen in Lagos on Tuesday, the Chief
Executive Officer, Akintola Williams Deloitte, Mr. Adeniyi Obe, refuted
the allegation, while stressing that the firm carried out its work
within the mandate of its agreement with the Budget Office of the
Federation and with the required professional standards expected of any
responsible professional services provider.
Obe noted that AWD responsibility was mainly to
participate in the process of receiving petroleum products into the
country based on specific vessels allocated to the firm and ascertain
the actual quantities of imported products, among others.
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