NCC beams searchlight on MTN, Airtel, Glo, others’ financials

Six licensed telecommunications operators in the country are to, henceforth, submit their financial statements to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the industry regulator has said.

The six operators include Airtel Nigeria, MTN Nigeria, Emerging Markets Telecommunications Services Limited (9Mobile), Globacom Nigeria, Main One Cable Company Limited, and IHS Nigeria.

This followed the commencement of implementation of the Accounting Separation Framework (ASF) in the Nigerian telecoms industry, which took effect from July 15, 2020.

In line with the framework, the telcos are obligated to submit their financials within seven months after the end of their financial year.

The commission said the new regulation is aimed at ensuring transparency and accountability in the industry and to prevent anti-competitive behaviour.

The telecoms regulator noted that the policy document, “Determination on the Implementation of an Accounting Separation Framework for the Nigerian Telecoms Industry”, which was developed via a consultative process in 2015, had undergone a comprehensive review by the regulator in collaboration with telecoms licensees and other critical industry stakeholders.

Commenting on the implementation, the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, expressed optimism about the framework.

Danbatta noted that “the new ASF will promote an industry environment that fosters open and transparent financial reporting while ensuring that charges for telecom services are cost-based and non-discriminatory.”

The commission, however, stated that submission of RFS in line with the new framework is currently limited to and mandatory for only six telecom licensees, adding that this will subsist for an initial period of two years after which the regulator may review the list to include other operators.

Adducing reasons for limiting compliance to six operators, for now, Danbatta, said the decision was taken to ensure the necessary structure is in place for reviewing and analysing the accounts before applying the new framework to all licensees in the industry.

Danbatta, however, stated that any other licensee willing to prepare its financial statements in line with the new framework is allowed to voluntarily do so, just as he said the commission may exercise its discretion to demand that a licensee prepare and submit separated account where it is determined that the activities of such a service provider are deemed critical to the overall well-being of the Nigerian telecoms industry.

“Therefore, for full and effective implementation of the Framework, every operator under the ambit of accounting separation is required to prepare an Operator-specific Accounting Separation Manual (OASM) containing policies, principles, methodologies and procedures for accounting and cost allocation, which must be submitted to the commission on or before October 30, 2020, for regulatory approval,” he said.

Licensees shall also be required to prepare their financial and non-financial reports in line with the Guidelines for the ASF while reports shall be furnished by the licensees for every accounting year beginning from the 2020 financial year-end.

Also, as part of operators’ licensing conditions, the commission requires licensees to prepare, in respect of each complete financial year or of such lesser periods as may be specified, separate accounting statements for all their activities.

According to Danbatta, the commission considers the Accounting Separation Framework “as an effective, least evasive and less costly solution to implement, to meet its regulatory objectives.”

He added that the implementation of the Framework is also a key deliverable for the commission in the new National Broadband Plan (NBP), 2020-2025.”  (New Telegraph)