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Have Respect for Risk

  Ensuring respect for risk Most executives understand the need for controls that alert them to trends and behaviors they should monitor, the better to mobilize in response to an evolving risk situation. And while managers are unlikely to approve of skirting the ... Read More

Even Small Businesses Need An Accounting Software

Why Your Business Needs An Accounting Software Research has shown that over 98 percent of Nigeria’s Micro and small scale businesses do not have formal or what we may call a standard book-keeping culture. While most of ... Read More

Solving Your Business Risks

    Businesses face a myriad of challenges that leave them vulnerable to many forms of risk, including regulatory, reputational and litigation, among others. Evolving legal and ethical obligations pose constant challenges to a business and often in-house counsel are on the front ... Read More

Demystifying the International Financial Reporting Standards.

IFRS Immersion Course For Accountants, Auditors & Finance Personnel This 3-Day IFRS immersion training has been designed to teach in-depth knowledge about IFRS with practical application examples.The training sessions will be led by subject-matter professionals with deep IFRS and Nigeria Statement of Accounting Standards experience. Attendance at this programme will provide the participants opportunity to discuss practical issues on application of IFRS and to ensure effective compliance with IFRS. Certificates will be awarded to all ... Read More

PML ADVISORY PARTNERS WITH E-TRENDS TECHNOLOGY INDIA

   Indian based accounting solution company, E-trends Technologies India has  signed a partnership deal with PML  advisory limited to provide solution to the  mounting challenges  of managing , controlling and reporting internal  audit  system that are confronting emerging and ... Read More

Your SME Needs a Financial Plan

    A financial plan is a forecast of future performance for a business, usually prepared using spreadsheet software. Small businesses can benefit greatly from taking the time to do a financial plan at least annually. The plan helps a small ... Read More

Seven Steps To An Effective Risk Based Audit

  An important in the internal auditor's toolbox, risk-based auditing effectively serves the three primary roles of internal auditing — to provide feedback on the adequacy of internal control, to provide a source of information for monitoring risk, and to provide identification and communication ... Read More

Your Company Needs A Better Risk Management Approach

  The world has learned the hard way over the past year that most companies have done a bad job of managing risk. And not only banks and investment firms. Accenture’s Global Risk Management Study  found that executives at business enterprises across a wide range of industries believe overwhelmingly that they ... Read More

External Auditors: An Ally or Opponent?

  External Auditors: An Ally or Opponent? Unfortunately, the finance departments of many companies mistakenly believe that having an external audit annually is part of their internal control structure they can rely on to ensure their financial statements are accurate and their internal controls are sound.   While the objective of an external audit ... Read More

What are the benefits of having professional financial advice?

Professional financial advisors have years of training, tools, and experience working with many different clients and situations. Because of their broad experience, professional advisors can quickly assess your needs and offer advice that reflects the best practices of the financial industry and is appropriate for your particular needs. In addition, and ... Read More

Have Respect for Risk

When Zuri Foods, a small gourmet snack company in Abuja, started in 2020, it was just a side hustle for its founder, Aisha Azuri Danjuma. With a few friends helping out from her kitchen and weekend sales at farmers markets, it was simple enough to track sales and expenses using spreadsheets.

She kept on with using spreadsheet but by 2023, the business was different. She had gathered a lot of referrals from old customers and there was a big boom in the local supermarket business in Abuja which meant more orders coming in from here and there.

In no time, Zuri Foods had landed bulk supply contracts with local supermarkets, was exporting chin-chin and plantain chips to Ghana and had opened a production facility in Jabi. What used to be a weekend bookkeeping quickly turned into a weekly nightmare.

“I was spending hours trying to figure out why our profit margins were fluctuating,” Aisha recalls. “We had no real-time inventory tracking. We were losing products, and honestly, I had no idea how much it was costing us.”

On the advice of her accountant -Tunde, Aisha explored Sage ERP, a solution popular with growing businesses in Nigeria. With the help of PML Professional Services, a renowned Sage partner in Abuja, they implemented modules for inventory, sales, and financials.

A little secret, I guess I should spill this one. You see, Tunde has earlier been in acquaintance with PML where he finished his mandatory one-year service as a corper before joining Zuri foods in 2022. So now you know how he knew these Sage guys.

I wouldn’t want to bore you out, but I guess I should give you a little highlight of what Sage did for Zuri Foods within three months;

Inventory Management:
Before Sage, it took three staff a day of manual stock counts to prepare weekly reports using spreadsheets. With Sage ERP, inventory levels were updated in real-time across their Maraba warehouse and Nyanya distribution hub. They could see at a glance which products were moving, and which were sitting too long. Unlike when the business had to sell their products at a lower price to push out goods to avoid them from spoilage, Aisha was really happy because she could track the movement of her products and also see the value of her store with ease from the comfort of her office.

Sales and Order Processing:
Their sales reps armed with tablets and laptops, could now remotely enter customer orders on-site. Orders synced directly into the system, eliminating miscommunications and double entry ‘wahala’. I totally recall a case with Mallam Isah who had once called multiple staff of Zuri due to delay in supplies of his usual orders for Zuri’s special plantain chips to restock his kiosk. He was later supplied his orders but guess what, his order was duplicated, and he was supplied double the quantity he requested because the two supplying officers he had called were at that time using spreadsheets on their individual computers. It was cases like this that made Tunde refer PML to Aisha. Using Sage really eliminated this order processing ‘palava’ because every order number was unique and could not be duplicated.

Financial Reporting:
Aisha could generate profit & loss reports with one click. Sage’s multi-currency support also made it easier to track export sales in Ghanaian Cedis and convert them seamlessly to Naira as Zuri’s functional currency.

Scalability and Confidence.
“Sage didn’t just organize our chaos,” says Aisha. “It gave us the confidence to expand. We opened our second branch in Wuse and started supplying schools and hotels—something I never would have attempted before”. This was the biggest win for Zuri Foods.

Zuri Foods was completely transformed by 2025, they had grown their revenue by 300%, expanded to having branches in Kano, Lagos, Ibadan and Port-Harcourt and was in talks with some South African distributors. Aisha now spends less time firefighting and more time planning new product lines.

Let me give you a little secret about small and medium scale businesses in Abuja. Listen when I tell you this, for many small and medium scale businesses in Abuja and beyond, the challenge isn’t passion or product, it’s ‘STRUCTURE’. Exactly what PML is willing to offer with core expertise in Sage ERP deployment for your businesses. Just like Zuri Foods, PML can help your business upscale and realise its full potential while maintaining your business culture and values with the utilization of its various sage ERP software.

Sage helps businesses move from hustle to enterprise, with the right tools for managing money, inventory, and growth.

And in Aisha’s words:
“Sage gave me more than software. It gave me visibility, accountability, and freedom.” Wow! I just learnt that PML provides services in the areas of Audit, Tax and Advisory as well.

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