The Impact of Public Sector Accounting in Nigeria Financial Control System

The Impact of Public Sector Accounting in Nigeria Financial Control System

ABSTRACT

This research was aimed at finding out the impact of public sector accounting in Nigeria’s financial control system using Esan southeast local government area of Edo state as a case study.

The purpose was to find out if the control of public funds adopted by the local government is appropriate, to determine whether the public sector accounting principle applied by the local government is appropriate and effective, and also to investigate whether the source of revenue to the local government is enough for them, etc.

The population size used was the staff and members of Esan southeast local government area of Edo state, out of which the sample size was selected using the Taro Yamani‟s sampling techniques.

Data for this study were primarily and secondarily sourced. Chi-square was used to analyze the responses gotten from the distributed questionnaires.

The findings made in this study are; the public accounting principles applied by the said local government area are inappropriate and ineffective and the control of public fund measures adopted is also inappropriate etc, based on the findings.

It was concluded that the public sector accounting principles applied by the local government are inappropriate and also the control of public fund measures adopted was inappropriate.

Recommendations were also made based on the findings which are, an account committee should be set up to control the accounting system of the said local government and monitor their day-to-day activities, etc and when this is met, the goal of creating the local government will be achieved.

TABLE OF CONTENT

Title page————————————————————– ——- — i
Approval page ——————————————————– ———- ii
Dedication ————————————————————- ———- iii
Acknowledgment ————————————————— ———–iv
Abstract —————————————————————- ———–vi
Table of content ——————————————————- ———-vii

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the study————————————————-1
1.2 Statement of the problem ———————————————–3
1.3 Objectives of the study————————————————–4
1.4 Research questions——————————————————-5
1.5 Formulation of research hypotheses ————————————-5
1.6 Significance of the study————————————————–6
1.7 Scope of the study———————————————————7
1.8 Limitations of the study.————————————————–7

CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
2.1 The concept of the public sector———————————————–9
2.2 Overview of public sector accounting ———————————-12
2.3 Peculiarities of public sector accounting ——————————-13
2.4 Appraisal of Nigeria financial control system————————–19
2.5 Objectives of Public Sector Accounting——————————–22
2.6 The role of public sector accounting in Nigeria financial control system.———————————————————————-24
2.7 The historical background of Esan South East LG——————–26
2.7.1 Sources of revenue to Esan south east LG—————————–26
2.7.2 Functions of Esan South East LG—————————————27
2.7.3 Controls of Esan South East LG —————————————30

CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
3.1 Research design———————————————————–33
3.2 Sources of data ———————————————————–33
3.2.1 Primary data—————————————————————33
3.2.2 Secondary data ———————————————————–34
3.3 Population of the study—————————————————34
3.4 Sample size determination ———————————————–34
3.5 Sampling technique ——————————————————35
3.6 Research instrument used————————————————-35
3.7.1 Reliability of research instrument ————————————–36
3.7.2 Validity of research instrument used————————————36
3.8 Method of data treatment and analysis———————————-36
3.9 Area of the study———————————————————37

CHAPTER FOUR: DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS
4:1 Data presentation/Analysis ————————————————38
4.2 Test of hypotheses ——————————————————-47

CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Summary of the findings ————————————————-55
5.2 Conclusion —————————————————————–56
5.3 Recommendations ———————————————————57
BIBLIOGRAPHY—————————————————————–59
APPENDIX / QUESTIONNAIRE———————————————-62

 

INTRODUCTION

The public sector is that sector of the economy established and operated by government and its agencies distinguishable from the private sector and are organized on behalf of the whole citizens while Public sector accounting is the process government agencies and municipalities use to record financial transactions.

Mathias, (2004:78). Said, similar to private sector accounting, in theory, the focus of public sector accounting is somewhat different.

Most government agencies and municipalities need to track funds generated from tax revenues and expenditures related to projects or appropriations.

In addition, nations may need to follow a set of standards of accounting principles different from private-sector accounting rules.

The creation of an international accounting standard helps nations to follow similar rules in other to present information in a similar manner. Government accounting typically uses a set of rules that tracks financial information.

Rather than attempting to determine how much money a public sector entity has made, the entity must report financial information to interested parties, primarily constituents.

The separation of money into these fund
s makes it difficult for government agencies or municipalities to spend money on unauthorized purposes.

Elected officials or legislatures 11 must create appropriations or spending authorizations to transfer funds amongst government fund accounts.

This process attempts to restrict the spending of money on a free-will basis that will quickly deplete an agency‟s resources Similar to private sector accounting, public sector accounting principles often seek to lay a framework for accounting practices.

Afolabi,( 2004:320). Said rather than creating a hard set of rules to follow, the principles allow for an application of basic principles to either large and small entities or municipalities. An international set of accounting principles is also necessary for smaller nations to learn and adopt rules that will enhance their internal national accounting process.

Most times, developing nations cannot or do not have the resources capable to create and instill a framework for their public sector accounting practices. Adopting an international set of accounting rules will help them overcome this problem and typically helps them start on the path of better infrastructure development.

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