Chairman of the Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC), Prof. Tunji Olaopa, has urged accountants to contribute more to the nation’s economic development and governance.

The professor of public administration made the call in Abuja yesterday at the 2025 Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN) National Conference.

Noting the centrality of accounting to national development, Olaopa urged members of the profession to think out of the box and boldly interrogate “new frontiers that are required to strengthen public sector financial management systems, as we consolidate democratic accountability, minimise waste in resource management, and contain the cost of governance so the expanding revenue accruing to the nation can be invested to drive growth and be catalytic in funding the national infrastructure development master plan that is already shaping Nigeria’s narrative so profoundly.”

He acknowledged the importance of national accounting in providing the data to track economic health, enable informed policy-making and resource allocation.

According to him, accounting serves as a framework for understanding a nation’s overall economic structure, measuring activity, and identifying areas for improvement.

“This information supports decisions on issues like taxation, interest rates, and infrastructure spending, and it fosters transparency and accountability, attracting investment and improving economic stability,” Olaopa said.

The FCSC boss stated that the gathering of accountants to reflect on the gate-keeping responsibilities of one of the two topmost regulatory bodies in a country as expansive as Nigeria would unarguably be a significant event.