ICAN Honours Olowo with ‘Top Chartered Accountant Under 40’ Award

Dike Onwuamaeze

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) has honoured the Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer, Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRC), Dr. Rabiu Olowo, with its 2024 ‘Top Chartered Accountant Under 40″ award.
The award was in recognisation of Olowo’s rising profile as a professional chartered accountant.

The award was conferred on him at the weekend, by the 59th President of ICAN, Dr. Innocent Iweka Okwuosa, during the ICAN 2024 Award/Annual Dinner Night, which was held at the Monarch Event, Lekki, Lagos State.
Okwuosa said: “On behalf of the council and members of ICAN, we present this merit award to you under the “Young Accountants Category,” which we have introduced for the first time in this award.”
Speaking on the honour bestowed on him by the ICAN, Olowo said the recognition was a personal challenge to him to continue to be a role model for current and future generations of accountants.

He said: “It is a great honour and I am deeply grateful. It is very humbling to be recognised in this way. It will only serve as motivation for me to continue to be a role model for current and future generations of accuontants.
“I am very happy that ICAN has recognised my work all through the years, be it when I was in the private sector and now that I am in the public sector. It is a great honour. I am deeply humbled.”

Olowo said the award would strengthen his resolve to deepen a new regime of transparency and integrity in the financial reporting in the country.
He said: “For me it is just a start for a new regime of transparency and accountability when it comes to financial reporting in Nigeria.
“Like I said this award is a motivation for me to continue to act as a role model, especially for the future generation of accountants.
“What I will like to say is that through transparency, integrity that accountants are known for, we need to distinguish ourselves and when we do this we will not only grow in our career but receive this kind of recognition.”

According to him, in the past seven months, the FRC has done quite notable activities. “We have established two new directorates, which are the Directorate of Material Standards and the Directorate of Valuation Standards.

“Within these seven months we have also rolled out the adaption Roadmap for Sustainability Reporting in Nigeria. We have gotten the buy-in of the president and the vice president, ministers, the governor of Lagos State and every key stakeholder within the private and public sector sustainability reporting in Nigeria.

“This is an encouragement in every way and has shown us that reward for good work is more work and I am absolutely ready.”

Olowo is a highly accomplished corporate reporting and public finance leader with a proven track record in developing and implementing corporate governance practices in both private and public institutions.

Olowo, recently warned corporate and government entities in the country that the council would not tolerate greenwashing in reporting sustainability.

Speaking at the opening of the regulatory roundtable to commemorate the visit of the Chairman, International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), Mr. Emmanuel Faber and his team to Nigeria, Olowo, had also said the group had finalised the roadmap document, which would be a tool to mainstream the implementation of sustainability reporting in the country in phases and with assurance and timelines.

He had pointed out that though most of the world’s economies are failing to advance the social, environmental, and climate goals set in the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement, Nigeria was taking steady and progressive steps.

With a distinguished academic background, Olowo holds an MBA from the University of Lagos, an MSc. in Accounting & Finance from Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, UK, and a PhD in Forensic Accounting and Auditing.

Moreover, he is a chartered accountant, chartered management accountant, certified internal controls auditor, and a certified fraud examiner, among other esteemed certifications.

Olowo’s previous role as the Honourable Commissioner for Finance in Lagos State (2019-2023) showcased his exceptional leadership capabilities in managing the fiscal policies of one of Africa’s largest economies.