Nigeria’s efforts to set up a sustainable and clear tax ecosystem danger being undermined so long as a major proportion of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) proceed to function with out correct documentation.
This concern was raised by the President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Dr. Haruna Nma Yahaya, on the 2025 Skilled Providers Group & Advocacy Tax Symposium of the Chartered Institute of Administrators (CIoD) held final week.
Yahaya defined that SMEs stay the spine of Nigeria’s non-public sector, but many nonetheless function with weak record-keeping constructions, insufficient monetary documentation, and restricted compliance frameworks.
He burdened that the tempo and success of the nation’s tax reforms would hinge on how successfully SMEs strengthen their inside programs and embrace a tradition of transparency, accountability, and correct reporting.
“Capability constructing should even be for SMEs, which represent the majority of Nigeria’s non-public sector. Administrators who lead SMEs should champion record-keeping, monetary literacy, and compliance tradition.
“Nigeria can’t construct a sustainable tax ecosystem if the spine of the financial system stays undocumented,” Yahaya acknowledged.
He defined that correct documentation and a tradition of compliance are actually important for all companies. With Nigeria’s tax administration more and more digital, SMEs that fail to keep correct monetary information danger penalties, operational disruptions, and missed development alternatives. In a digital tax setting, poor information high quality has shifted from being a minor inconvenience to a major enterprise danger.
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The ICAN president emphasised the necessity for SME homeowners and administrators to intentionally construct capability inside their organisations. This contains enhancing monetary literacy, offering common coaching for accounting groups, and adopting digital accounting instruments that promote accuracy and transparency.
Inside auditors and authorized groups additionally must strengthen their understanding of rising regulatory adjustments, significantly these linked to automation and data-driven enforcement.
- Yahaya launched the Director’s Tax Governance Framework (DTGF), a five-pillar mannequin designed to information organisations towards stronger tax governance. The framework focuses on coverage, individuals, course of, efficiency, and public transparency. He urged each organisation to set up a board-approved tax philosophy that clearly defines how equity, compliance, and societal obligations information enterprise practices.
- He additional burdened that administrators should guarantee strong inside controls masking filings, funds, audits, documentation, and dispute decision. Weak controls create vulnerabilities that may expose organisations to regulatory motion.
- Audit committees ought to broaden their oversight to incorporate tax dangers, whereas whistle-blowing mechanisms have to be strengthened to permit staff to report misconduct safely.
Yahaya additionally highlighted that the 2025 tax reforms will deliver quicker and extra predictable regulatory penalties. Automated programs will present authorities with better visibility throughout industries, making inconsistencies simpler to detect. SMEs with poor documentation or irregular submitting patterns might face disputes, penalties, or reputational hurt as enforcement turns into extra clear.