PACAC, ACCA, to Hold Anti-Corruption Conference in Abuja

Demola Ojo

Arrangements have been concluded to hold an anti-corruption conference themed Financial Systems Integrity Improvement in Abuja on Friday, June 30. The programme,which is an initiative of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC) in collaboration with the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), the Convention on Business Integrity (CBi) and the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), is to help tackle fraud and financial corruption in the country’s banking and finance sector.

The keynote speaker for the event will be Nick Leeson, whose dealings and unauthorised speculative trading at Barings Bank led to the collapse of one of Britain’s oldest financial organisations in 1995.

The conference will address regulatory and institutional measures being taken by the financial services sector and regulators to minimize fraud and corruption in the sector, the effectiveness of such measures and required steps to close existing gaps and effectively sanction breaches by few defaulting players.

The collaborating partners are persuaded that all stakeholders in the financial services sector share a common goal for enthronement of systemic integrity and accountability in light of existing self-regulating measures which are however inadequate. To this end, the conference will identify further preventive and practical measures required by the players and regulators to tackle fraud, corruption and other forms of financial crimes.

The conference is expected to attract key players in the financial services sector including the Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, chief executives of banks and other financial institutions, compliance officers of banks, private sector operators, consumers of financial services, civil society and representatives of the diplomatic community.