The Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRC) has disclosed plans to educate at least 50 percent of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) owners on financial reporting by 2025.
Speaking with journalists during a session tagged “Train-the-Trainers,” organized by the FRC in collaboration with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the Executive Secretary of the council, Dr. Rabiu Olowo, emphasized the importance of financial reporting for business planning.
He noted that many MSME owners struggle to maintain financial transaction records, and the training is designed to equip them with the knowledge to effectively use technological tools to support their businesses.
He said, “Financial reporting is critical for planning, and most MSMEs do not have a single record of their financial transactions.
“We recognize the importance of micro, small, and medium enterprises. That’s why we collaborated with UNCTAD and the Expert Working Group on International Standards on Accounting and Reporting to assemble a group of professionals. These professionals are equipped with a model to train MSMEs in the area of financial reporting. We cannot reach all of them at once as there are over 41 million MSMEs.”
Dr. Olowo added that while it is impossible to train all MSME owners at once, the council plans to reach at least 35–50 percent of them by 2025.
“So, we decided to bring together professional accountants to guide them on how to train the MSMEs. Training all MSMEs is a daunting task, but we aim to reach as many as possible. Our target is to reach between 35 and 50 percent of MSMEs next year,” he explained.
He further highlighted the dynamic nature of financial reporting, stating, “Financial reporting is fluid and constantly evolving, with standards being revised or updated. We will continuously update MSMEs to ensure they effectively report their financial activities.
“What is not measured cannot be reported. That is why we are focused on concluding the training of trainers so we can begin training MSMEs in 2025.”
Dr. Olowo also emphasized the need to include micro-enterprises, which he noted significantly outnumber small and medium-sized enterprises.
“With technology, a trader can use their phone to track how much they have sold, purchased, and earned. Most of them don’t have this capability yet, and that’s what we aim to teach them,” he added.
