The Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) has expressed optimism that with the right policies, the economy will witness improvement across all indices before the close of the year.

President of CITN, Adesina Adedayo, said this during the institute’s yearly general meeting.

He said despite the harsh operating environment, there have been some positive indicators within the period of review.

While analysing the performance of the institute, activities and successes during the period, he said despite various economic downturns, the institute continued to gain traction in the drive to become one of the foremost professional institutions in Africa.

According to him, the institute’s views and opinions on tax matters remained widely respected and sought after by the government and other stakeholders in the Nigerian tax system.

He listed some of the successes of the institute in the last presidential year to include connecting with stakeholders, strengthening relationships with regional and international professional bodies, staff welfare/capacity building, women inclusiveness and engagement with the media.

The CITN, according to him, has continued to engage key stakeholders to play its advocacy role in line with its mandate as the conscience of the industry.

Treasurer of the institute, Simon Kato, who presented the financial statement, said the institute recorded an operating surplus of N145 million, representing an increase of 28.82 per cent as against N113 million recorded in 2020.

He said that the institute’s total assets had improved from N1.56 billion to N1.824 billion between 2020 and 2021.

The performance, according to him, reflects unwavering support from members, governing council and staff members’ restless efforts.

Registrar/Chief Executive of the Institute, Adefisayo Awogbade, said all hands were on deck to drive increased productivity and achieved record-breaking results in line with the institute’s core values.