After the accession of Henry II, Nigel was summoned to reorganize the Exchequer, or treasury, that was responsible for the production of the government's financial records, including the Pipe Rolls. The king had to ask Nigel several times to return before the bishop agreed, and one reason for Nigel's reluctance may have been that he would have to work with Robert, Earl of Leicester, one of the Beaumonts, who had been responsible for turning Stephen against Nigel's family in 1139. Another of Nigel's colleagues in the administration was a layman, Richard de Lucy, who served as a justice until 1178. Nigel was the only surviving minister of Henry I, and his knowledge of the Exchequer was needed to help reorganize the revenues of the king and restore administrative practices lost during Stephen's reign. The lone pipe roll to survive from Henry I's reign, for the year 1130, may be Nigel's own copy, brought with him to the Exchequer when he returned under Henry II. Nigel was able to increase the revenues compared to what had been collected under Stephen, but he was unable to quickly return them to the amounts collected under Henry I. It may have been Nigel who urged the king to attempt to recover estates that had been alienated during Stephen's reign.