Africa-Press – Gambia. The Gambia Financial Reporting Oversight Board (FROB) on Thursday, 25 September 2025, validated its inaugural draft Audit and Public Interest Entities (PIE) Rules, marking a major step forward in strengthening the country’s financial reporting and regulatory framework.
The validation meeting, held in Banjul, brought together stakeholders from across the public and private sectors, underscoring the vital role of transparent and accountable financial reporting in advancing national development.
In his opening remarks, FROB Executive Director Sulayman Foday Drammeh highlighted that the central aim of the new rules is to protect the public interest. He cautioned, however, that the effectiveness of the framework depends not only on the rules themselves but also on the commitment of regulators, professionals, and corporate leaders to apply them “consistently, fairly, and with integrity.”
Drammeh emphasized inclusivity as a guiding principle of FROB’s regulatory approach. He urged stakeholders to view the new rules as an opportunity to elevate The Gambia’s financial reporting standards to a level that is “world-class, trusted, and respected. “FROB stands ready to guide, monitor, and, when necessary to enforce, but above all, we stand committed to building partnerships that will make compliance not a burden but a shared standard of excellence,” he noted.
Attikan Dibba, Chairman of the FROB Board, explained that the PIE Rules aim to set clear standards governing the operations of public interest entities in The Gambia, outlining how auditors should conduct their work and the responsibilities these entities bear in strengthening financial reporting. He highlighted that, until now, the absence of a formal regulatory framework has left the oversight of PIEs largely to the discretion of their management.
“So this document is designed to take away discretion from the process so that the rules are very clear. So when that is achieved, no one can blame the CEO and his team for playing bias. That means the rules are there; the only job is to enforce the rules,” Dibba said.
From the practitioners’ side, Ramatoulie S.O. Jallow of DTA welcomed the inclusive approach taken in developing the rules. She expressed confidence that standardized guidelines would provide greater clarity and consistency in auditing practices, strengthening their implementation.
“I believe once we agree on this, it is going to be positive because we are going to have consistency on how we do it; it doesn’t matter what audit firm audits a PIE, but at least the approaches are going to be similar, especially the monitoring that is coming now from FROB.”
Established under the Financial Reporting Act 2013, FROB serves as The Gambia’s national regulator for financial reporting. Its mandate includes promoting transparency and accountability, setting auditing and corporate governance standards, monitoring compliance, and ensuring effective oversight of public interest entities across the country.
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