EVALUATION OF ACCOUNTING SYSTEM IN THE MANAGEMENT OF NIGERIA UNIVERSITIES
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
The establishment of universities constitutes part of the infrastructure of the country within which development and an evaluation of accounting is the whole system of control. Financials and otherwise established by the organization in an orderly and efficient manner, ensures adherence to management policies, safeguard the asses and secure as far as possible the completeness and accuracy of records.
In order to allow for better administration in the universities, the executive arm of operate and each is charge with specific duties. They are required to render an account of their stewardship on how the asset and obligation of the students, staff and government have been safeguarded. The question that readily comes to mind is, how far has this stewardship roles been performed.
Case of embezzlement and misappropriation of public funds are main part these days. Frauds have been taken many forms in this country within the educational institution in the area financial frauds which include embezzlement of cash parse by cashiers falsification or wrongful manipulation of accounts. Materials and commercial frauds in stole of government parties.
Personal fraud in duties the existence of ghost workers forgoing of certificates and use of workers and universities time for private jobs while on payroll. Retaining of employees names in the payroll of two or more departments drawing wages cheques for a greater amount than actual wages, buttering of fractious names or retaining the names of previous employees on the payroll.
Outright burglary, breaking in and stealing of materials and requirements such as typewriters, photocopy machines and cash form universities premises. It should be noted that these fraud devices have a lot of effect on the operational efficiency of the universities and the frauds could have been prevented of
these are effective and accurate accounting role procedures. In view of the light rate of frauds in the Nigerian public sector, it become necessary to develop satisfactory and efficient system of internal control to safeguard public money and other assets. This could be reinforced by drastic law and regulations against frauds which the past military administration of general Abubakar has stated.
There is fraud were there is a poor accounting role system. A good system of accountability or internal control system will ensure that every transaction is correctly recorded and that responsibilities or duties are adequately segregated so that the same person do not receive money, make entries, and make payment.
Lack of inadequacy internal control method result in the mismanagement of the economy, lack of public accountability, insensitivity of the political leadership and general deterioration of the standard of living, hence there is need for positive action for fraudulent actions.
ON ACCOUNTABILITY
It would appear that inadequate accountability has been one of the problems of the Nigerian society since independence. It is arguable that most public officers holders have not proved to be quiet successful in accounting efficiency of the stewardship
The inadequate and stewardship of public officers and politicians did sustain and aggravate economic problem which directly or indirectly increase unemployment, austerities, inflation scarcities of full local and imported goods, falling of standard of living which generally resulted in going for fairly used materials popularly known as Tokunbo.
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
The university of ilorin was established by decree of the federal military government in august 1975. This step taken to implement one of the education directives of the country third national development plan.
The university were considered to have special responsibility themselves, also that they could guarantee their future awareness of these responsibilities should be expressed in efficiency, in being due able to fashion curricular which can easily merge with existing system, developing postgraduate programmes, publishing standard ability to attract and retails staff originate in curriculum and introducing new concepts engaging in problem articulated research, maintaining `academic standard, coordinating with lower lever institutions and laborating democratic internal governance for the universities to achieves the universal.
A society which is free from corruption and exploitation and which is led by able leaders imbised with a sense of justice to all a nation which has educated man and woman oriented towards services to their localities, country and the under society.
Degree of control by the government is due to interference in the activities of the universities section by people in government with litter or no knowledge at all about the operations of the section is causing a serious problem in the section.
University is institution for the problem and dissemination of advance leaving, offering degree and engaging in academic research. University in a developing country roles and functions are seen to train highly skill staff to satisfy national man power requirement, promotion, and preservation of and enhance of social, cultural and moral institution.
1.2 STATEMENT OF RESEARCH PROBLEM
The checking on day transaction which operate continuously as part of the routine system whereby the work of one person is proved independently or is complimentary to the work of another. The objectives being the prevention or clearly detection of error and fraud.
Arithmetical and accounting controls fall within the recording function which checks that the transactions to be recorded and processed have been authorized and that they are all including of arithmetical accuracy, reconciliations control accounts and the trial balances.
Internal check should not involve the duplication of duties by two or more persons and the division of duties must be maintained at all stages. It should also be noted that all transaction should authorization or approval by an appropriate and responsible person.
Custody procedures and physical controls are concerned mainly with the custody of assets and involve procedure and security measures designed to ensure that process to assets is limited to authorized personnel. This includes both direct access and indirect access via documentation. To signify their initial for their part in the payment voucher with space for responsible officials to signify their initial for their part in the payment of cash and cheque pass responsibility down to individual for instance, persons responsible for have space on the payment voucher for their initial with additional space for others information like LPO number, cheque number, invoice number and account change for such expenditure. The uses of accounting machines also permit the simultaneous preparation of several documents with similar information and thus prevent errors in recopying.
If function by measuring and evaluating the effectiveness of other of control. It could be regarded as the watching for management because it prints out areas out of deficiencies in the operation of organization.
1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
In evaluation of accounting system which is vegauded as the central or most important part of every educational establishment therefore, its efficient organization means that the educational establishment is carrying out its objectives effectively with specific regards to land down rules and regulations.
Control is essential in management function that deals with the measurement and correction of the performance of subordinates with a view of achieving the organization object with maximum efficiency and at minimum cost.
Therefore, the objective of this study is to study the role of function of accounting principles in existence at universities of Ilorin and see how effective these accounting elements are. In order words, evaluation will be made as to whether the system of accounting in operation at the universities of ilorin is sound and reliable.
The competent, honest, dedicated and imaginative staff with clear line of authority and responsibility can almost perform at a high level and generally reliable vouchers even when there are few other controls to support them. The existence of an effective system of accounting will refuel an adequate separation of duties if the records kept are to be relied upon. Those who are custody assets not be made responsible for maintaining accounting record of such assets as combination of both function increase the risk of man-detection such frauds.
Having ascertained the existence of those characteristics of interval controls, compliance test will be carried out to ensure that accounting procedure are being applied as prescribed, while the objective will be to make recommendation and suggestions.
1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The significance of the project voices with individuals and the organization. To the individuals, new staff will be recruited and trained to explain the feature of the new environment to the current system of operation and to reduce fraud that is always generated during the preparation and auditing of the management account which will improved the efficiency and consistency of their operations by keeping records.
1.5 RESEACH QUESTION
Question can be said to be a self administration process where by the responding himself read the question and respond to the question without the assistance of interviewer.
1. Are the expenditure incurred with the limit of authority?
2. Are the present number of staff enough for the internal audit department?
3. Is the preparation of payroll delegated to suitable people?
4. Is there adequate segregation of duties regarding those staff involved in the preparation of money received, records and those involve in the preparation of money received, and those in other accounting operation?
5. What is the problem in recapitalization of the university?
1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The research work shows the importance of an evaluation of accounting system in the management of Nigeria universities.
The study also introduce complexities into the simplify the method by analyzing and evaluating the presence system and bringing in their innovation for the purpose of yielding fruitful result through effective participation and utilization of resource in the university of ilorin.
All Nigeria universities to be considered same for time and financial constraints. Data should be collected from the staff of accounting department covering period between 2002 and 2008.
1.7 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
In any project work of this nature, these are bound to some limitation or writing factors. However the work of project or mine is not an exception of such factors. Some of the problems faced during research include.
⦁ Lack of cooperation from staff of the accounting section some of the staff of the accounting department were reluctant to supply us with information those who were less reluctant felt they will lose after job as they claimed that the information were up most secret. Some of the information that has assisted in the success of this study was secret document for example file down loaded from the internal control system.
⦁ Finance: another factor which limits this work was finance amount of money at my disposal to carry out this study was not adequate for a gigantic project of this nature.
⦁ Bias: as would be expected, some response by the people to which the question was put forward to tended to be with bias mind just to protect their own interest. Most cases the management will give a different view from what the workers gave for example the management responded positively on writers condition of service while the research was the response of the workers.
⦁ Lack of proper satisfied information it’s a fact well know in this country that public sector hardly kept record to date and accurate information, and ever where statistical information or data are available the figure and facts are often is doubt exaggerated or reduced.
⦁ Time factor: the time specific for the submission of this study is two short to give way for an intensive research work more practically, if one take into account that other academic work needed equal attention.
1.8 STUDY PLAN
This project reports consists of five chapters. The first chapter contained the general introduction. This include introduction, background to the study, statement of the research problem, objectives of the study, research question, scope of the study, limitation of the study, study plan, definition of key terms.
The second chapter center on the literature review. This contain reviews of introduction, accounting control system, internal control system review, internal auditor and watch dog role.
The third chapter focuses the research methodology of the existing system which includes historical profit of the case study, research hypothesis, data presentation, method of data collection, population and sample size, sampling techniques and method of data analysis.
The fourth chapter entails data presentation and analysis which include presentation of the analysis. Evaluation of accounting system in the management of Nigerian university and discussion of finding.
The last chapter contains the summary and conclusion this consists of summary, recommendation and conclusion.
1.9 DEFINITION OF KEY TERMS
In addition to brief description outlined under the introduction accounting system is defined as “the who system of controls financial and otherwise established by the management in order to convey on the business of the enterprises in an orderly and efficient manners.
1. INTERNAL AUDITING: This can be defined as “an independent appraisal activities on an organization for the review of accounting, financial and other operations as basis for services to management”. It is managerial control which function measuring and evaluating the effectiveness of others controls. An independent appraisal function established within an organization to examine and evaluate it activities as a service to the organization.
2. ACCOUNTING: This is a means of recording and reporting the economic transaction of entity. It is aimed at measuring economic entity with a view of providing information and has been called the business. Since it serve to record and communicate economic phenomenon in order to provide a basis for policy.
3. ENTITY: Every economy unit, regardless of its legal form of existence, is treated as a separated entity (in accounting) from parties having proprietary to economic interest in it.
4. ABSORPTION COSTING: This is often refused to as full costing or total costing and generates in controversy. It is the conventional costing methods, which servers as basis for all financial accounting statement.
5. DOCUMENTATION: An office withdrawing or retiring from the services should submit his application through his head of department, security should never be looked upon as the source of requirement.
6. PUBLIC SECTOR: This is refer to as all organization that are not privately owned or operated but which are establish, finance and controlled by the government on behalf of the general public.
7. GOING CONCERN: The assumption is that, the business until will operate in perceptivity that is the business is not expected to be liquidated in the foreseeable future. A business is considered a going concern, if it is capable of earning a reasonable not income and there is no intention or threat from any source to curtail significantly its line of business in the foreseeable future.
8. PERIODICITY: Although, the result of a business until cannot be determined with precision until its final liquidation or winding up. The business community requires that the business community and the used of the financial statement require that the business be divided into accounting period (usually one year) and that charges in position be measured over those periods.
9. REALIZATION: The concept establishes the rules for the period recognition of revenue as soon as:
a. It is capable of objective measurement
b. The value of asset received or received able in exchange is reasonable certain. It is possible to recognize revenue at a variety of points, for instance when goods are produced, when goods are delivered or when the transaction is completed.
10. MATCHING: The concept held that, for any accounting period, the earned revenue and all the incurred costs that generated that revenue must be matched and reported for the period. If revenue is called over from a period or deferred to a future period all elements of cost and expenses relating to that reserve are usually carried over or differed as the case may be. While accounting control has been defined as the methods and procedures that are mainly concerned with the authorization of transaction, the safeguarding of asset and the accuracy of the financial records. Finally, management is the combination of human and materials resources in the right proportion to achieve organization goals.
.