Rabiu Olowo, government secretary and Chief Govt Officer of the Monetary Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRC), on Wednesday, November 12, 2025, formally concluded his historic tenure as Chair of the forty first Session of the United Nations Intergovernmental Working Group of Specialists on Worldwide Requirements of Accounting and Reporting (ISAR) on the Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland.
His one-year management of the UN physique left a legacy of worldwide affect, as Nigeria reaffirmed its rising affect in shaping worldwide monetary and sustainability reporting requirements.
The closing ceremony, which included the election of recent officers and the formal handover of the ISAR Chairmanship, marked the tip of a tenure outlined by innovation, collaboration, and measurable progress in international company reporting reforms. Olowo’s election in November 2024 as Chair of the forty first Session of UNCTAD-ISAR was extensively celebrated as a recognition of his management excellence and experience, having efficiently reworked and repositioned the FRC as a driver of transparency and good governance in Nigeria’s monetary system.
In his handle on the opening of the forty second Session of ISAR in Geneva, Olowo expressed deep appreciation to the UNCTAD Secretary-Normal, Rebeca Grynspan, the ISAR Secretariat, and Member States for his or her dedication to advancing high-quality, clear, and decision-useful monetary and sustainability reporting throughout jurisdictions. Reflecting on his time period, he described his service as an “extraordinary privilege,” including that the previous yr demonstrated what could possibly be achieved via collective resolve and international cooperation.
In keeping with Olowo, his management centered on two central priorities, advancing the harmonization and sensible implementation of sustainability reporting, assurance, and moral requirements, and integrating monetary and sustainability reporting via digitalization. He emphasised that these priorities represented a shared dedication to strengthening market belief, enhancing accountability, and supporting sustainable improvement worldwide.
Highlighting key milestones achieved below his chairmanship, Olowo famous that ISAR-41 made important progress in harmonizing sustainability reporting frameworks by deepening international dialogue on interoperability amongst key requirements, together with the Worldwide Sustainability Requirements Board (ISSB) Requirements and the European Sustainability Reporting Requirements (ESRS). He additionally cited strengthened collaboration with the Worldwide Ethics Requirements Board for Accountants (IESBA), which strengthened the moral foundations underpinning credible sustainability assurance practices and decreased fragmentation throughout international reporting techniques.
He additional defined that ISAR-41 promoted regional and international consultative engagements such because the Africa Regional Partnership–IESBA Dialogue held in Might 2025 and the IPSASB consultative assembly on climate-related disclosures. These engagements, he stated, helped advance impartial sustainability assurance practices, improve person confidence, and promote integrity in sustainability info.
On the position of expertise, Olowo highlighted that ISAR-41 recognised digitalization as a key driver of built-in reporting. The expanded use of the UNCTAD Sustainability Reporting Taxonomy and structured, machine-readable codecs, he famous, improved accessibility, comparability, and analytical worth of reported info, enhancing evidence-based decision-making throughout each private and non-private sectors.
Olowo additionally recalled his participation on the February 2025 Coordination Section of the United Nations Financial and Social Council (ECOSOC) in New York, the place he represented ISAR and contributed to high-level coverage dialogues on financing sustainable improvement. He held consultations with diplomats and the UN Financing for Sustainable Improvement Workplace, advancing discussions on coherent, science-based, and evidence-driven approaches to implementing the 2030 Agenda. In keeping with him, these engagements strengthened ISAR’s strategic relevance in informing UN coverage route on sustainability, transparency, and capacity-building.
On regional cooperation, he noticed that in 2025, ISAR’s regional partnerships turned stronger, offering platforms for peer studying, technical collaboration, and sustained capacity-building throughout Africa, Asia, Latin America, Eurasia, and the Gulf. These partnerships supported nations in implementing international reporting requirements via sensible coaching and alignment initiatives.
Commending the ISAR Secretariat, Olowo praised its professionalism, analytical rigour, and technical management in sustaining ISAR’s credibility and international relevance. He underscored the persevering with significance of ISAR’s work amid international financial uncertainty and environmental challenges, describing sturdy company reporting as “a basis for belief, truthful markets, accountable funding, and sustainable improvement.”
Trying forward, Olowo outlined two key thematic priorities for the forty second Session of ISAR, reviewing progress within the harmonization of sustainability reporting necessities throughout jurisdictions, and integrating biodiversity and human capital concerns into sustainability reporting frameworks to advertise long-term worth creation. He stated these discussions reaffirmed the worldwide group’s shared dedication to coherent, high-quality, and decision-useful reporting.
In his closing remarks, Olowo attributed the successes of his tenure to collaboration and shared objective, saying, “The achievements of the previous yr had been made potential via partnership, shared objective, and collective resolve. I’m grateful for the belief positioned in me to function Chair, and I stay assured that the work undertaken right here will proceed to form a extra clear, accountable, and sustainable international financial system.”
He inspired ISAR delegates to proceed their efforts with readability, unity, and dedication, stressing that their selections “contribute to the integrity of worldwide monetary techniques and to the well-being of societies all over the place.”
Olowo’s excellent efficiency as ISAR Chair not solely elevated Nigeria’s profile throughout the United Nations system but additionally underscored the nation’s rising fame for thought management in monetary and sustainability reporting. His accomplishments function a beacon of excellence, inspiring youthful professionals to embrace competence, integrity, and dedication as pathways to international recognition and affect.
