AI agents for business finance: what they can and can't do
What AI agents can do in bookkeeping, close, collections and compliance today, where a person must stay in charge, and how to judge a product.
The short answer
Keep each transaction's invoice, receipt and bank record together, in a form both tax authorities accept, for the longer of the two retention periods. The IRS generally asks for three years and up to seven or longer in some cases; Nigerian practice under the pre-2026 law was a six-year assessment window with no limit for fraud or neglect, so many businesses keep Nigerian records at least six years.
A business with money in a US bank and a Nigerian bank produces two sets of evidence in two currencies, often in two formats. When either tax authority asks a question, the answer has to come from documents that tie together: the invoice, the payment, the conversion, the receipt and the ledger entry. This guide sets out a single system that serves both. It is information, not advice.
What each authority looks for
IRS
The IRS records page (reviewed 30 June 2026) sets retention periods by situation: three years in general, six years if income was under-reported by more than 25% of gross income, seven years for a claim for a loss from worthless securities or bad debt, indefinitely if no return was filed or for fraud, four years for employment tax records, and property records until the limitation period ends for the year the property is disposed of. Amounts must be reported in dollars, and the IRS foreign currency page asks for consistent conversion at the rate when each item was received, paid or accrued.
Nigeria
A BusinessDay explainer (2 September 2025) described a six-year limit on assessments from the close of the accounting year under the old company income tax and FIRS Establishment Acts, with no limit for fraud, wilful default or neglect, and listed the records to keep: financial statements, returns, receipts and invoices, withholding tax credit notes, payroll and VAT documents. That framing predates the Nigeria Tax Administration Act 2025, which took effect on 1 January 2026; confirm the current period with the NRS or an adviser.
One file per transaction
The simplest system that works for both is a transaction file holding, for every material payment or receipt:
- The invoice or contract, numbered and dated, showing currency and any VAT or withholding tax.
- The bank record from the account that paid or received, with the narration.
- For conversions, the bank or provider confirmation showing amounts in both currencies and the rate.
- The receipt or proof of delivery.
- For Nigerian payments with withholding tax, the credit note or receipt for the tax deducted.
- The ledger entry reference, so an examiner can move from the books to the evidence and back.
Where trails usually break
| Gap | Why it matters | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Transfers keyed at a software rate | Book gain or loss no longer matches what happened | Use the amounts on the conversion confirmation |
| Cash paid to Lagos vendors | No bank record | Signed receipt plus a petty cash log, approved by a second person |
| Approvals by WhatsApp | Hard to show who approved what | Move approvals into a system that records them |
| Missing withholding tax credit notes | Nigerian vendor or customer cannot prove tax paid | Chase monthly, not at year end |
| PDF statements only | Harder to match and easy to dispute | Keep originals and a verifiable copy where available |
For approvals specifically, see payment approvals by WhatsApp and audit risk. For withholding tax credit notes, the Ledger's guide on getting your withholding tax credit notes back covers the Nigerian side.
A worked example
Example figures only. A US company pays a Lagos consultancy ₦4,000,000 for a project. The file holds the signed statement of work, the consultancy's invoice, the bank record of the payment, and, if the consultancy is resident in Nigeria and the Nigerian subsidiary is the payer, the withholding tax receipt. If the US company paid from a dollar account, it also holds the conversion confirmation showing, say, $2,650 sent and ₦4,000,000 received, an implied rate of about ₦1,509 per dollar. An IRS examiner sees the dollar cost and its support; an NRS reviewer of the subsidiary sees the naira cost and the tax deducted.
Format, language and storage
Evidence has to be readable when it is needed, which may be years later. Keep originals in the format the bank or supplier issued them, and save a searchable copy alongside. Where a key Nigerian document is in a local language or uses unfamiliar abbreviations, add a short English note explaining it. Store everything in two places, with access limited to the people who need it, and record who added or changed each file. A trail that only one person in Lagos understands is a risk in itself; write down how the system works so someone in the US could follow it if that person leaves.
What to check first
- Pick one storage location for both countries' evidence, with a naming rule.
- Set a retention period that is the longer of the US and Nigerian requirements for each record type.
- Make conversions traceable to confirmations, not reference rates.
- Chase Nigerian withholding tax receipts monthly.
- Test the trail: pick five transactions and see if someone else can follow them end to end.
Where Pryme fits
Any Pryme customer can generate a regular or a verifiable receipt or statement through VerifyDoc.ai, and anyone can check that a verifiable one is genuine and unaltered, which helps when an examiner questions a document. A Business Account keeps NGN and USD records in one place, and Swap records the rate and fee you approved. The Finance agent can assemble transaction files for a person to review.
Questions people ask
How long should I keep Nigerian business records?
The pre-2026 framing was a six-year assessment window with no limit for fraud or neglect. Confirm the current rule under the Nigeria Tax Administration Act 2025 with the NRS or an adviser.
How long does the IRS want records kept?
Three years in general, six if income was under-reported by more than 25%, seven for bad debt or worthless securities, and indefinitely if no return was filed or for fraud.
Are WhatsApp approvals enough for an audit?
They are hard to rely on. A system that records who approved what and when is easier to show an examiner.
Do I need receipts in naira and dollars?
Keep the original currency document and evidence of the dollar amount, such as the conversion confirmation, so both authorities can follow it.
Sources
- IRS: How long should I keep records? (reviewed 30 Jun 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
- BusinessDay: Nigeria tax record retention, know the rules (2 Sep 2025) · accessed Oct 2026
- IRS: Foreign currency and currency exchange rates (updated 22 May 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
This article is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice. Products described are provided under the terms on this site and are subject to regulation and eligibility.