Tuesday, September 17, 2019 / 12.11PM / Nifemi Taiyese forProshare WebTV / Header Image Credit: WebTV

TheChristian Financial Accountability Association (CFAA); a self-regulatoryassociation of churches and Christian organizations concerned about financialaccountability and governance, held its inaugural seminar with the theme "Finance and Governance Accountability".

CFAANigeria, a platform for Christian leaders and financial stakeholders to explorehow churches can be structured to achieve proper governance standards, hasembarked upon a series of governance activities designed to improvetransparency of church administration.

Atthe event, Mrs. Ibikun Awosika, Chairman First Bank of Nigeria (FBN), describedthe seminar as timely and valuable to churches, to avert future ethical andadministrative crisis.

Accordingto her "The biggest model of influence in our nation is the church, whichshapes the mind of societies in many ways, hence the church needs to bepragmatic in its activities".

Awosikaargued that the Church was a pace setter, as it was a standard bearer for congregations, meaning it can influence territories and segments of the market and economy.

Shewas  of the view that churches should be structured by providingleadership portfolios and filling them up with individuals of the rightcharacter.

Awosikaemphasized the fact that the Church is a place to breed citizens that areupright and have integrity , stating they must be compliant with the rulescorporate and national rules, as being Christians does not exempt them from the existing national laws.

"Bypossessing the right structure and working right, the church will serve as amodel of integrity such that when the government comes there is courage toaddress challenges. The nation is in troubled times as there is prevalent moraldecadence. The overall essence of structure is that it allows for appropriateresponse".  She stated. 

Sheadded that "The leaders in church should be accountable through employingindependent service companies to audit the church financial statements,stressing that some of these professionals are present in the church and canoffer to help balance the books. Also, "lawyers in the church can help thechurch follow due legal procedures/processes".

TheChairman of FBN  stressed that the CFAA once introduced can be a positiveinfluence for national good .

Mr.Leke Alder the Founder of Alder Consulting highlighted the underlying problemsthat several church bodies face as it relates to government.

Hesaid that the CFAA Nigeria will reposition the Church as an  island ofbest practices. 

Aldernoted that the CFAA Nigeria was the commencement of a new era in theadministration of churches which hope to achieve not only financialaccountability,  but also spiritual development.

Alsospeaking at the event Mr. Taiwo Oyedele , Head, Tax and Regulatory,PriceWaterHouse Coopers , PwC West Africa highlighted the key areas ofgovernance code for not-for-profits organizations and the importance ofaccountability as regards performance and perception.

Heraised the following key  issues that should be considered in the church,which include;

•          The importance of tax planning and compliance,
•          Proper financial statements and record keepingfor governance,
•          Building robust internal control procedures andprocesses and,
•          Inclusion of standard templates forreporting

Theevent featured a Question and Answer session which addressed issues of Tax Identification Number, TIN,  and the importance of registering withrelevant tax regulatory bodies to ensure inclusion of all organizations.

Stakeholdersat the inaugural CFAA Nigeria seminar were advised to contact professionals toensure compliance with the tax laws.

Also,the issue of financial accountability was discussed and the need to separate anindividual  financial statements from church revenue.

Chairmanof the CFAA Nigeria inaugural seminar  and Senior Pastor of DaystarChristian Centre, Rev. Samuel Adeyemi  called for the sensitization of thechurch in Nigeria on the need to drive corporate governance and financial accountability.

Hecited Rwanda and Angola that have regulatory processes covering governance andfinancial accountability for churches in their respective territories.

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