Published in The Daily Observer on Sunday, 19 June 2016
Formation of Financial Reporting Council goes slow
Staff Correspondent
Formation of Financial Reporting Council (FRC) for bringing good corporate governance is going in slow pace within the government’s machinery.
The council, a body under Financial Reporting Act-2004, is responsible for ensuring transparency and accountability. Though initially it was not getting support from ICAB but now it is every body’s desire to make into reality. According to a senior official of the Ministry of Finance, a search committee has been formed four months before to select council members but it is not getting proper headway. The government last year passed the FRA-2004 in the parliament but till today no major advancements seen within responsible body.
The formation of the FRC under the guidance of the Ministry of Finance is mainly responsible for monitoring the development of international accounting and auditing standards.
Still today the government’s ICAB is responsible for bringing transparency in the financial reporting and good corporate governance.
The government was adamant to form the council after scams in the capital and money market.
A good number of large financial scams happened in the banks and after that for brining transparency it was required to form a council which as an individual will monitor over all the financial reports and acts. Another senior official in the Ministry Of Finance said, “We are working on it and a meeting has been formed.”
He said, “Our Finance Minister is aware of the council and he is giving necessary directions on formation of the council.” Currently financial reports and statements of the capital market’s listed companies are done by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) enlisted firms but the share holders want an independent council that will act over the SEC, ICAB, CAG and the government’s other auditing and financial regulating agencies.
The Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) fellow Towfiqul Islam Khan said, “It is a must for forming FRC that will bring order and create transparency in the corporate good governance.
He said once the FRC comes into reality it will reveal the real facts of transaction, records and the real financial health of the economy.
He said the government should give emphasis on forming the council as per rules and regulation formula in the FRA.