The Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC, has conducted an in-house training for hundreds of its staff across the country on formalising businesses and enhancing post-incorporation compliance.
The training, which took place on Monday in Abuja, came under the theme: ‘Re-engineering the Commission for Compliance and Enforcement Mandates’.
Speaking during his welcome address, Registrar-General of CAC, Hussaini Magaji, said the training would ensure efficient management of corporate entities.
According to him, the importance of compliance and enforcement functions beyond the routine registration of businesses.
“One of the key priorities I identified upon assuming duty in 2023, was the need to bring the commission’s regulatory and management functions to the forefront.
“This led to the inclusion of compliance enforcement as a key component of my four-point agenda,” he said.
The registrar-general said that advancements in Artificial Intelligence, AI, could handle routine operational tasks like business registration, freeing resources for more complex compliance and enforcement activities.
He reiterated the success of the PoS Formalisation Project, which had registered about 100,000 Point-of-Sale operators under the requirements of Section 863 of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, CAMA, 2020.
According to him, the project aims to formalise at least 250,000 operators in the sector as part of broader efforts to regulate the estimated 40 million micro, small, and medium enterprises, MSMEs, in Nigeria.
“Formalisation is the first step for legitimate business operations and access to government interventions.
“It also mitigates the risks associated with unregistered businesses, such as money laundering and terrorism financing,” Mr Magaji said.
Representing the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, its Deputy Commander on Narcotics, Harami Wakirwa, said that the initiative demonstrated CAC’s commitment to promoting compliance, integrity and accountability.
“This is a good step in the right direction. I wish you all a productive and engaging experience.
”Let us work together to foster a culture of compliance and make a positive impact in our industries and countries,” he said.
Also, DCP Usman Ahmed, Deputy Director, Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Center, NPF-NCCC, acknowledged the crucial role compliance and enforcement played in safeguarding and fostering a secure regime for business operations.
“The challenges we face today, especially in cyber-attacks, demand that we continually adapt and improve our strategies and practices.
“This training is not just an opportunity to acquire knowledge, but should allow us to improve cybersecurity, inter-agency collaboration, and share the responsibility to restore confidence in public institutions.
“We must embrace this opportunity to re-engineer our operations and reinforce our ability to excel in cyber security. Together, we can make a significant impact,” he said.
