The Indispensability of Accounting System in the Control of Public Expenditure
Chapter One
PURPOSE OF STUDY
This study aims at investigating the indispensability of accounting system in the control of public expenditure. The purpose of this study include among others:
- To determine the extent to which accounting records has controlled the effect of expenditures in public
- To find out factor that affects the accounting department preventing them from carryout their function as
- To determine government policies which promote accountability in public enterprises in Nigeria.
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Over the years, the Nigerian public sector has increased greatly in important and this necessitated to many people waiting on the role of accounting in this sector. Dule, E.1965 in his book titles Management Theory and practice, describes the roles of accounting in the public and private sector as the factor which to plan, organize direct and control their financial resources and represent the organization to the third parties.
He further stated that a reflection reveals that each of these approach contains a significant financial dimension for instance, important financially strategies can be used to measure whether resources are being effective utilized and co-ordinate in order to express organization plans and control activities to the third parties. In addition to this sheared 1974 shares, the views that accounting plays an important and inevitable role of recording and management funds in any public organization in most suitable manner, using this funds as profitably as possible. Planning future operations and controlling financial accounting, cost accounting, in different direction. In short, it can be said that sheared views is as follow up of Dule’s 1965 idea on the role of accounting in any organization Kolade, O. and Peter M.Dean 1987 in third book, Financial Management in the Nigeria Public Sector looked at the role on the number of staff employed by these sector to facilitated the work of accounting in an organization. They said that the role of accounting in the public sector have become so important that the number of people employed to carry out these accounting function in an organization are very few compared to their work perform.
However, they maintained that public sector to recruit, train and develop accounting, sector with disproportional large number of the experience and unqualified accounting staff. At the same time, the small numbers of qualified experienced accountants remaining the service have been neglected. The financial function has been concerned with the routine task of controlling, authorization, rewording and reporting the lack of total view of the role of the financial function almost exclusively with middle-level managers and the lack of good financial managers. Within top level management have predictable result in our public enterprises future.
The effects of this defect are:
- Management information system of which accounting is is a part, have been neglected: Accounting has been more convened with the compliance and regulators than with serving management or other user needs.
- Methods of evaluating investment and performance have been in adequate with the result that management have been deprived at useful information and utilization of information has been
- Policies have been evolved without proper consideration of theirfinancial effects and
- Accountability and control have been inadequate because of lack of innovation in financial sphere:
Okafor on his own view classified role of accounting in the public enterprises into four categories:
- The owners of the business are primary state holders. The financial information obtain from the accounting department determines how much the owner of the enterprises will
- It is also from this information that the enterprise determineshow many people the enterprises will employ and how much each person will
- Creditor supply funds or service to the business. Their statesto enable it meet its contractual payments obligations to the It is from this financial department that determines how much the organization earns as their profit and finally how they will take their payment to their creditors.
- The government is interested in profit performance whichdetermines the tax liability of the business. It is from the accounting departments that the financial positions of the firm are known and this enable the firm to know whether they are making profit or not. The government then tax the enterprises if they are making
TYPES OF ACCOUNTING PRINCIPLES
The term generally accepted accounting principle has long been used in accounting profession and entries into the public domain. These principle were not all written down in one day, they evolved over several decades. These principles are supported and justify by institutions legal authority and acceptability it present, there exist certain accounting principles that all accountants recognizes applied in practices.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This study is intended to obtain information that will enable the researcher assess the accounting principles adopted by the Nigeria Public Sector.
RESEARCH DESIGN
For the purpose of this study the researcher made use of certain methods and designs. These involve the planning and implementation of this plan in generating information, which would be used in investigating the study, the role of accounting in the control of public enterprises in Nigeria . The plan will include methods and source of data collection and also determination of sample size.
DETERMINATION OF SAMPLE SIZE
This study by its nature did not permit the use of large sample size. It consist of few responsible officials in the accounts and internal audit departments of Federal radio corporation of Nigeria Enugu branch. The internal audit department has a population of 15 staff while the account department has a population of 26 staff maki8ng a total population of 41 official. For our sample size, we would use the total number of staffs because of the small number we have, there would be no need for a formula to calculate the sample size for the project work.
Therefore, the sample size of this research work is 41. this means that the questionnaire prepared should be distributed to 41 officials base on our findings of officials.
POPULATION OF STUDY
The target population for this study is the staff in the accounting department of the companies used, the staff in the accounting and internal audit department of the Federal radio corporation of Nigeria plc (C BN) Enugu Branch totally 41.
CHAPTER FOUR
PRESENTATION OF DATA AND TESTING OF HYPOTHESES.
INTRODUCTION
This chapter deals with the presentation and interpretation of data obtained from responses to questionnaires administered to competent staff of account department and internal audit department.
It also contains a summary of responses from interview questions and the role of each question.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
The researcher made some notable findings in the Federal radio corporation of Nigeria (FRCN). These findings are whether the organization applies the role of accounting in the control of public expenditure in Nigeria. And also if the manages and other staff were following statement.
However, the data that is collected for this study have been presented and analyzed in the previous chapter. The managers are adequately and efficiently apply the role of accounting in their organization which ensure accurate accountability in the recordkeeping.
The role is of utmost important in any organization in which if other company can imitate will enhance the organization and help them in achieving their goals. Based on the observation there is enough materials. Resources and funds to express organization plans and control. It is also indicates that accounting plays on important and inheritable role of recording and managing funds in the organization.
In the organization studies, several of the staff that has been interviewed are using the accounting principles and also applied it in the financial transaction of the organization. That is the reason why the organization is functioning up till today and once they are using these principles it will enhance the standard of living both in the organizations and in the Nigerian economy.
CONCLUSION
The role of accounting principles in the control of public expenditure in Nigeria was the main aim of this project. Also student, were the effects of certain economic factors and government policies on the role of accounting principles in Nigeria is primarily to ensure observed that the role of accounting principles in Nigeria is princely to ensure accountability in this sector and present the true and fair financial position of the enterprises.
At the end of project, it was discovered that the role accounting is effective in the need for adequate application of the standard were normal. It was suggested that projects, write-ups, these include in conclusive should be carried out extensively on the point topic studied. The validity of accounting principles rest on their simplicity, classify and generality in current practices and in furnishing guidance for moral conduct of practitioner of the profession. Finally, the role of accounting by all organizations in the public sector would result in higher be enhance. Therefore the practice should be better in amongst parishioners of all levels of production.
RECOMMENDATION
The following recommendation have on the basis of findings of the study, less emphasis should be placed on the needs and expectation of management when preparing financial reports prepares should not be biased in the perforators. Better awareness should be created amongst the public practitioners of accounting profession on the need and importance of adequate application of accounting standards. The NASB should show some list of imagination and adequate research in its standards and an attempt should be made to develop a system of accounting standards reflection of local social economic be separation from the control of practitioner, rather practitioners should be guided in the practice by body of independently developed theory.
A high level working committee should be inaugurated to examine constant breaches of accounting standard and the balance of power on NASC should be titled to favour the process of account, the auditor and the public interest equally and have detailed standard be published. All organizations in both public and private sector of the economy should be made to comply fully with the standard requirement the presentation of reports on financial transaction and strict disciplinary measure should be against those that will fail to comply. Efforts to improve existing principles will have better channels of success if they are made with full recognition of needs and special problems of business activities, financial analyst government agencies and others, who used the accounting information in their organization.
Bibliography
- Ademolekun K.O. (1983), The Nigeria financial system, London: Macmillian Publisher.
- Dala E.O. (1965), Management Control of Business Organization, London: MC Crew Hill.
- Ejiojor & Pital N.O. (1989), Foundation of Business Administration.
- African Publisher Ltd., Onitsha Nigeria.
- Holiness Geofry et al (1982), Interpreting Company Reports and Accounts, 2nd Edition Wood Head and Cambridge.
- Howard W.B. (1980), A Complete Executive Encyclopedia of accounting, Financial, Investment, Banking and Economics.
- Image E.U. (1985), Principals of Accounting, Enugu: Fourth Dimension Publisher.
- Johnson, H.(1965) Financial Management and the Private Enterprises in Nigeria, Nigeria: Longman Publishers.
- Mosiah A.N. (1982), Internal Accounting 5th Edition, USA: Mc Craw Hill Line.
