The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has directed KPMG Advisory Services to change its name within six weeks to avoid confusion with KPMG Nigeria, following a July 10, 2025 Court of Appeal judgment which nullified the registration of KPMG Professional Services.
In a letter dated September 19, 2025, and signed by Chidimma Laureen Nwite on behalf of the Registrar-General, the CAC stated that the business name KPMG Advisory Services (BN 2145583), registered on October 11, 2010, was mistakenly approved despite KPMG Nigeria’s prior registration.
The directive, issued under Section 30(1) of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020, prohibits registration of names that are identical or confusingly similar to existing entities. The CAC warned that failure to comply within the stipulated period would trigger enforcement action. A copy of the letter was also sent to the law firm Idowu Sofola & Co.
This development stems from the Court of Appeal’s unanimous decision delivered by Justice Abdullahi Mahmud Bayero, which granted all four reliefs sought by KPMG Nigeria against the CAC and KPMG Professional Services. The appellate court held that the registration of the second Respondent’s name was improper and misleading under Section 662(1)(d) of CAMA 1990, now Section 852 of CAMA 2020.
The dispute began in 2002 when KPMG Nigeria challenged the registration of KPMG Professional Services, arguing that the name was deceptively similar and could mislead the public. Although the Federal High Court dismissed the suit in 2005, citing an alleged merger between KPMG Nigeria and Akintola Williams Deloitte, the Court of Appeal overturned that decision, ruling there was no legally binding merger agreement and that the lower court’s evidence was inadequate.
Justice Bayero stressed KPMG Nigeria’s historical precedence, citing its prior registrations of KPMG Audit (1969), KPMG Tax Consultants (1990), and KPMG Consulting before the disputed name was approved.
The appellate court ordered the CAC to:
- Strike KPMG Professional Services from its register.
- Cancel its certificate of registration.
- Issue a perpetual injunction restraining it from using the name.
- Conduct an inquiry into damages for profits earned under the disputed name.
The ruling reaffirmed the statutory protection of existing business names under Nigerian corporate law and underscored the CAC’s duty to prevent registration of confusingly similar names.
