In a bid to effectively play their roles on audit committees, shareholders have called for increased knowledge in that area.
This, according to them, is owing to the fact that these roles ensure the accountability of firms listed on the Daily Official List of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
The Companies and Allied Matters Act of 1990 provided that audit committees should comprise of directors of the company and ordinary shareholders, who represent the interest of the minority investors in listed companies.
But shareholders in some of the audit committees have not performed as expected due to various reasons, including lack of accounting knowledge and lack of understanding of their roles.
In order to bridge the knowledge gap, shareholders under the aegis of the Ibadan Zone Shareholders Association have concluded arrangements to hold a seminar in Ibadan on Tuesday.
A statement on Friday, quoted the Chairman, IBZSA, Chief Sola Abodurin, as saying that there was the need to upgrade the knowledge of shareholders in this regard, to enable them perform their roles better.
He said, “Our members are in audit committees of various companies. But we noticed of recent that there is a gap in knowledge of what should be the roles and responsibilities of audit committee members of companies.
“It is in this light that the association is organising a one-day national seminar with the theme ‘Roles and Responsibilities of Audit Committee Members of Companies’ to properly educate our members on what is expected of them as members of these committees.”
He said that the keynote address will be delivered by the Director-General, Securities and Exchange Commission, Ms. Arunma Oteh, while other papers will be delivered by representatives from Baker Tilly Nigeria Limited (Chartered Accountants).
Abodurin, who explained that the seminar attracted no fees, said it was timely and considered necessary to equip and prepare participants on their roles and responsibilities as audit committee members.
IBZSA is one of the seven zonal associations created by the Bureau of Public Enterprise in 1992 to take care of interest of shareholders of public quoted companies in Ekiti, Kwara, Ogun, Ondo, Osun and Oyo States.