His selfless service to the country as the Chief Executive Officer of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRC) remains indelible and unforgettable in the minds of the populace. A very transparent and prudent financial expert and accounting tactician, Jim Osayande Obazee performed creditably and achieved greatly as the Federal Government’s Special Investigator of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and related entities, having been appointed to this position by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in July last year. His leadership in thoroughly investigating the financial applications and misapplications of the executives of the CBN attracted global accolades and appreciation. Obazee deployed a suitably experienced, competent, and capable team and worked with relevant security and anti-corruption agencies like the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) to deliver on the assignment.
As a patriotic Nigerian whose passion for the unity and growth of the country remains strongly unquestionable, Jim took drastic steps to ensure the strengthening and probity of key Government Business Entities (GBEs) and to block leakages in the CBN and related GBEs. Additionally, he also provided a comprehensive report on public wealth currently in the hands of corrupt individuals and establishments (whether private or public). The submission of his reports to His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu went a long way in scrutinizing the financial standings of individual Nigerians, both at home and in the diaspora. This achievement is not new to him as he displayed similar ingenuity under the administration of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan.
On record, Jim Obazee was the first Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRC). He held this position from the inception of the FRC on June 3, 2011, until January 9, 2017. In that capacity, he was responsible for setting, monitoring, and enforcing financial reporting standards and corporate governance practices in both the public and private sectors of the Nigerian economy. The job included the harmonization of the activities of relevant professional and regulatory bodies in Nigeria. His achievements as a financial and accounting expert are currently reflecting on the management of the country’s economy.
Obazee, who hails from Edo State, is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Financial Reporting Advisory Professionals, a consulting firm. He is the 29th Chairman of International Standards of Accounting and Reporting (ISAR) of the United Nations (UNCTAD-ISAR). ISAR is the only intergovernmental working group devoted to corporate transparency and accounting issues at the corporate level. ISAR addresses a variety of issues in corporate accounting and reporting with a view to improving the global comparability and reliability of corporate reports. He was a member of the United Nations Consultative Group on Accounting by Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and the United Nations Consultative Group on Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement. At the national level, he was the Chairman of the National Committee on the Roadmap to the Adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in Nigeria. He was also the Chairman of the National Committee on “Top 100 Businesses” in Nigeria. He served as Technical Director and later Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Accounting Standards Board (NASB).
In his earlier career, he was on attachment to the Financial Accounting Standards Board in the USA and the Accounting Standards Board in Canada. He joined the NASB in 1993. Prior to this, he was a Lecturer of Accounting at the University of Benin, Edo State, Nigeria. He holds a B.Sc in Accounting (University of Benin), an M.Sc in Accounting (University of Lagos), and a certification in Strategic Financial Analysis for Business Evaluation (Harvard University, USA). He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria and a member of the American Accounting Association. Jim Obazee is married to Elizabeth Omotayo and blessed with two sons: Bethlehem and Naioth.
