Kwara State Internal Revenue Service (KW-IRS) held its office and Business Processes simulation exercise today, Thursday 27th October 2022.
The exercise which was the first of its kind since KW-IRS was certified into its two ISO standards, Quality Management System (QMS 9001:2015) and Business Continuity Management System (BCMS 22301:2019) was geared towards testing the level of preparedness of the Service in the instance of any kind of business disruption or occurrence of natural disasters.
The simulation which commenced at about 9:00am witnessed a shutdown of all tax-related activities at the Phase I & II offices of the Service on Ahmadu Bello Way, Ilorin, for some hours, with the evacuation of staff to the approved alternative business sites provided, situated at the KW-IRS phase III office located along Irewolede area, Ilorin.
The identified alternative business locations of the Service within the State are expected to accommodate and ensure the business continues almost immediately even in the face of unplanned and unforeseen disruptions.
Representatives of all Directorates & Departments of the Service were relocated to the Phase III office to continue the job for the day.
The Service sent out notification of the exercise and shutdown of its head office through emails to staff after its key business process owners had settled and recovered to a large extent at the alternative site chosen.
Thereafter, Placards were pasted at the main entrances of the Phase I and II offices to communicate the exercise to taxpayers.
Vehicles were made available to convey walk-in taxpayers who were within the premises of the Service at the time of the simulation and also taxpayers that came after the gates were shut to the phase III office where all tax-related issues and enquires were attended to seamlessly.
Speaking during the exercise, the Executive Chairman, KW-IRS, Shade Omoniyi reiterated the beauty of technology in any business process, stating that, the availability of a backup system aided the smooth running of the simulation exercise.
She stated that the simulation form part of the resolves of the Service to ensure business continuity is fully in place at all times no matter the situation, particularly for the key processes and activities of the Service.
“The purpose of the simulation exercise is to test our preparedness during a disruption in any form. We are therefore expected to function as if we are in our original office with access to tools, data, and network that could make Service delivery seamless” added the coordinators for QMS and BCMS, Omolara Ojulari and Maimunat Amasa respectively.
Enlightenment and advocacy on the essence of the exercise were done for all walk-in taxpayers during the exercise and this was well appreciated by taxpayers as a good initiative and a show of true readiness of KW-IRS to continue to perform its mandate of revenue drive as required without any distraction.
The crises team of the Service drawn from various key departments offered the required guidance on the successful conduct of the exercise and expressed the commitment of the Service to the sustenance and maintenance of the two certifications and readiness to ensure all staff and stakeholders key into the understanding and application of the certifications towards continuous quality service delivery and enhancement of revenue for the development of the State.
Signed
Corporate Affairs, KW-IRS
27/10/2022