This study examines the role of non-accounting information in explaining success and failure among registered Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) in Kaduna Municipal, Nigeria. While SME performance assessment has traditionally relied on accounting-based indicators such as profitability and turnover, growing theoretical and empirical evidence suggests that intangible and strategic factors provide stronger explanations of enterprise sustainability. Adopting a mixed-methods design, the study combined quantitative survey data from 175 SME owners/managers with qualitative interviews to provide contextual depth. Binary logistic regression analysis was employed to model the probability of business success—measured as sustained growth over a 24-month period—while controlling for firm age, firm size, and accounting performance indicators.

The results reveal that non-accounting variables significantly predict SME success beyond financial metrics. Specifically, entrepreneurial orientation (β = 1.42, p < 0.01), managerial competence (β = 1.08, p < 0.05), market intelligence capability (β = 0.95, p < 0.05), and customer relationship strength (β = 1.21, p < 0.01) emerged as strong positive determinants of sustained growth. Descriptive findings further show that 62% of surveyed SMEs reported growth, while 38% experienced stagnation or decline, highlighting measurable variation in enterprise outcomes within the municipal context. The findings support multidimensional performance frameworks grounded in the Resource-Based View and dynamic capability perspectives, demonstrating that intangible strategic capabilities are critical drivers of SME resilience in sub-national developing economy environments.

The study contributes to SME literature by providing localized empirical evidence from Kaduna Municipal and by validating the explanatory power of non-accounting information in performance evaluation models. Policy implications emphasize the need for SME development programs to incorporate managerial training, entrepreneurial development, market intelligence systems, and customer relationship management capacity building into enterprise support initiatives. 

Keywords: Non-Accounting Information, SME Performance, Entrepreneurial Orientation, Managerial Competence, Market Intelligence.