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The short answer
Your auditor confirms a Nigerian bank balance by sending a confirmation request directly to the bank, signed off by you as the account holder, and receiving the reply directly. Start before the year end: agree the bank list with the auditor, give each Nigerian bank a signed authority on the company's mandate, and ask the bank how it handles audit requests. The confirmed naira balance is then converted to CAD at a year-end rate from a source the CRA accepts.
What the auditor needs
A bank confirmation is evidence the auditor gets from a third party rather than from you: the balance on each account at the year-end date, and often loans, guarantees, signatories and accounts closed in the year. The value of the letter comes from it travelling between the bank and the auditor without passing through the company. Expect your auditor to refuse a statement you forward, even a stamped one, as a substitute for a direct reply.
For a Canadian company with naira accounts in Lagos or Abuja, this is usually the slowest item on the audit list. Nigerian banks handle these requests through a branch or relationship officer, often against a written authority signed by the account's mandated signatories, and turnaround depends on the bank.
The two routes
Electronic platform
Many audit firms use Thomson Reuters Confirmation (confirmation.com). Its site says it processes confirmations in over 170 countries and lists 4,300+ banks and departments, with both auditors and bankers validated before they can use it. It does not name which Nigerian banks are on the platform, so ask your auditor to check each of your banks before relying on it.
Paper or email request
Where the bank is not on a platform, the auditor prepares a letter on the company's letterhead, you sign it as the authorised signatory, and the auditor sends it to the bank with the auditor's address for the reply. Use exactly the signatories on the bank's mandate; a letter signed by someone outside the mandate is a common reason for delay.
Timeline that works
- Six to eight weeks before the year end: send the auditor a list of every Nigerian account, including dormant and domiciliary accounts, with account numbers and branch.
- Four weeks before: confirm with each relationship officer how the bank wants audit requests (email address, form, charges) and whether the mandate is current.
- Year-end date: download statements for every account; keep them with your multicurrency books.
- First week after: the auditor sends requests; you send the signed authority the same day.
- Two to three weeks after: chase through the relationship officer, copying the auditor.
These timings are practical guidance, not rules. Your auditor sets the requirements; if a bank does not reply, the auditor will tell you what alternative evidence it will accept.
Converting the confirmed balance
The confirmation gives a naira figure. For CRA purposes, the folio on reporting currency (S5-F4-C1) points to the Bank of Canada rate for the day, but the Bank of Canada's daily table does not publish a naira rate (checked 23 October 2026). The folio allows another rate source if it is widely available, verifiable, independent, market-recognised, used for the financial statements and applied consistently from year to year. Write down the source and the closing rate you used and give both to the auditor. The year-end method is covered in valuing naira balances at year end.
What usually causes delays
- The request names an account number or branch that has changed, so the bank cannot match it.
- The signatories on the authority differ from the mandate held by the bank, often after a director has left.
- The bank has no named contact for audit requests, and the letter sits in a general mailbox.
- Domiciliary accounts are left off the list because they are held in US dollars rather than naira.
- The bank asks for a charge to be paid before it replies; check the amount with the relationship officer, as no published figure was found for this article.
Fix the first two before the year end. Updating a mandate in Nigeria from Canada can itself take weeks, so check it at the start of the audit planning, not when the request goes out.
If you also have a Nigerian company
A Nigerian subsidiary may have its own audit. CAMA 2020 s.402 exempts a small company or a company dormant since incorporation from audit requirements for the year, though not a bank, an insurer or another company the CAC prescribes. The NTAA 2025 (s.11) also lets a small company file a statement of accounts attested by the taxpayer instead of audited financial statements with its tax return. Check eligibility with the subsidiary's accountant; one set of confirmations can often serve both audits if the dates match.
What to keep
- The signed authority and the date sent
- The bank's reply, as received by the auditor
- Year-end statements for every account
- The FX rate source and closing rate
- Records for six years from the end of the tax year, as the CRA requires
Where Pryme fits
Any Pryme customer can generate a verifiable statement through receipts and statements, built with VerifyDoc.ai, and anyone can verify it is genuine and unaltered. It does not replace a direct confirmation your auditor requests, but it makes supporting evidence easier to check. The Finance agent on a Business Account can prepare the account list and year-end statements for a person to approve; more on this in verifiable receipts in a cross-border audit.
Questions people ask
Can I send my auditor a bank statement instead of a confirmation?
Usually not as a replacement. Auditors want the reply to come directly from the bank; statements support it.
How long do Nigerian banks take to answer audit confirmation requests?
No published standard turnaround exists; it varies by bank. Start four to six weeks before the year end and chase through your relationship officer.
Which exchange rate do I use for naira at year end in Canada?
The Bank of Canada does not publish a naira rate, so use another widely available, verifiable source and apply it consistently, as CRA Folio S5-F4-C1 allows.
Does my small Nigerian subsidiary need an audit?
CAMA 2020 s.402 exempts small and dormant companies from audit for a year, except banks, insurers and companies the CAC prescribes.
Sources
- Thomson Reuters Confirmation: audit confirmation platform (Oct 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
- CRA: Income Tax Folio S5-F4-C1, Income tax reporting currency · accessed Oct 2026
- Bank of Canada: Daily exchange rates (table dated 23 Oct 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
- LawGlobalHub: CAMA 2020 section 402, audit exemption · accessed Oct 2026
- Nigeria Tax Administration Act 2025 (gazette copy) · accessed Oct 2026
- CRA: Where to keep your records, for how long (modified 3 Aug 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.