As the COVID-19 pandemic deepens its hold on global economies, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria are facing their greatest challenge yet. Lockdowns, disrupted supply chains, revenue shocks, and tightening regulations threaten to wipe out years of business growth. In this climate of fear and uncertainty, Abiola Akintobi is emerging as one of the most critical forces keeping Nigerian businesses alive.
A seasoned tax strategist and financial controls expert, Akintobi steps into the chaos not with panic—but with precision. With over 15 years of experience across Nigeria’s most demanding sectors, including manufacturing, oil and gas, financial services, and telecommunications, she brings tested frameworks and hands-on expertise to the SMEs gasping for support. As Head of Tax & People Services at Bishop & Rooks LP, she leads a high-impact unit that delivers structure where there is disorder, strategy where there is confusion, and resilience where many see collapse.
“Businesses are not failing because their ideas are bad—they’re failing because their financial structures are weak, financial controls are becoming more inadequate, and businesses are not keeping up with necessary operational changes,” Akintobi says. “In a crisis, clarity, compliance, flexibility and controls become non-negotiable. That’s what we advocate.”
Akintobi’s interventions are rooted in deep knowledge of taxation, business restructuring, financial reporting, and regulatory engagement. She works directly with business owners to stabilize operations by simplifying tax filing systems, identifying urgent tax relief opportunities, restructuring contracts for optimal compliance, and aligning business practices with rapidly evolving federal and state policies. As tax authorities ramp up audits in an effort to recover lost revenues, her support becomes not just helpful—but vital.
Her current role at Bishop & Rooks LP is the culmination of decades of strategic work. Under her leadership, the firm’s Tax & People Services unit grows by over 500%, fueled not by volume but by value. She builds systems that increase profitability while safeguarding compliance. Her clients gain more than just advice—they gain a partner who integrates financial logic with long-term business vision.
Akintobi is tackling one of the most overlooked challenges that emerged during the pandemic: the lack of professional support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Many SMEs struggle with the internal capacity to manage critical functions such as tax remittances, regulatory compliance, and cash flow optimization—factors that increasingly determine business survival in today’s economy. In response, Akintobi is democratizing access to practical financial advisory services. She develops scalable service models that are thoughtfully tailored to the unique realities of small businesses, ensuring that expertise once exclusive to multinational corporations is now reaching the very foundation of Nigeria’s business landscape.
Before the onset of this crisis, Akintobi had already established a reputation for hands-on, results-driven problem-solving. During her tenure at PricewaterhouseCoopers Nigeria, she worked across a diverse portfolio of clients, ranging from multinational corporations to small enterprises.
Her responsibilities spanned managing audits, designing compensation frameworks, and crafting tax strategies that delivered measurable business improvements and improved tax efficiency. Her ability to seamlessly navigate between high-level policy considerations and the practical realities of day-to-day business operations has proven to be a distinct advantage during the pandemic.
Today, Akintobi works with clients to rethink what it means to operate sustainably in a volatile market. She leads restructuring projects, supports tax health checks, and even advises on workforce strategy—ensuring that companies can retain key talent without succumbing to payroll pressures. Her unique ability to connect tax structure with human capital strategy sets her apart in an environment where layoffs and employee disengagement are rampant.
She also spearheads training initiatives for internal teams and clients, helping them decode complex tax laws, understand risk exposure, and improve accounting systems. In a world saturated with misinformation, these educational efforts give business leaders the confidence to make informed decisions.
Her leadership proves that resilience is not just about weathering storms—it is about building systems strong enough to withstand future ones. Whether she is guiding a retail startup through compliance issues or helping a manufacturing firm restructure its payroll taxes, Akintobi delivers customized, effective solutions that speak directly to each company’s unique needs.