Salawu Apoti FCCA, has won this year’s ACCA Public Sector Advocate of the Year award for Nigeria.
Apoti has been instrumental in advancing financial management standards in Nigeria and in providing support for ACCA members and students. He has actively championed the ACCA brand, positioning it as a trusted partner in the task of enhancing public sector capability.
‘I have sought to bridge the gap between professional expertise and practical governance’
As deputy director at the Office of the Auditor General for the Federation of Nigeria (AuGF), he serves as assistant officer, a specialist who focuses on the technical aspects of an organisation’s systems and processes.
At the AuGF, he has striven to embed global best practice into public sector auditing and governance. He serves at board level on the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria and has played a significant role implementing reforms to align public sector accounting with International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) in the country.
To that end, he engages in discussions across Nigeria’s public institutions to promote best practices in public sector accounting. He has also championed the ACCA brand and encouraged the adoption of ACCA standards as a means of improving oversight and transparency.
Thought leadership
Over the years, Apoti has actively contributed to the public sector accounting community, via thought leadership initiatives designed promote the cause of fiscal responsibility, open government, and performance management in public sector accounting. These initiatives align closely with ACCA’s strategic goals to strengthen impact, build sustainable value and redefine the accountant in the public sector context.
As a highly experienced and qualified auditing professional, Apoti has worked tirelessly to represent the benefits of the ACCA qualification and membership to the student body in Nigeria. Demonstrating a commitment to advancing and sharing knowledge and capacity within public sector accountancy is a core goal. ‘I have sought to bridge the gap between professional expertise and practical governance,’ he says.
In his role at AuGF, Apoti has provided support for younger ACCA members and students by establishing a platform where they can exchange ideas and interact. He provides mentorship for those participating and has been encouraged to see participants steadily increasing in number, with women members and students currently outstripping the men.
‘We brought two institutions together and it is my hope we will build on that relationship’
The platform builds on his many years of promoting ACCA membership to students and young people. In previous years, he has made himself available as a speaker and mentor at ACCA forums, describing his own ACCA journey and promoting its merits as an internationally recognised accreditation.
Apoti is currently working with ACCA in Nigeria to address the issue of affordability for public sector accountants in qualifying and maintaining their professional membership. Against a backdrop of a fluctuating currency and lower wages for public sector employees, he is actively working to pursue solutions.
Additionally, he has helped to open doors for ACCA to engage with AuGF and gain access to development programmes for public sector finance professionals. He helped secure strategic meetings between the ACCA representative for Nigeria and the Auditor General, bringing the two organisations closer together.
‘It was a very good outcome. We used that occasion to bring the two institutions together and agree a few points going forward, especially in the area of technical assistance. It is my hope we will build on that relationship.’
