ACCOUNTABILITY: ITS DILEMMA IN PUBLIC SECTOR REPORTING (A CASE STUDY OF ENUGU STATE POST PRIMARY SCHOOL MANAGEMENT BOARD)
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ACCOUNTABILITY: ITS DILEMMA IN PUBLIC
SECTOR REPORTING (A CASE STUDY OF ENUGU STATE POST PRIMARY SCHOOL MANAGEMENT
BOARD)
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
At, the onset of the oil boom in the 1970’s,
many were convinced that the era of scarcity has given way to abundant
resources. A major problem was how to plan for the societies to be confronted
with the vast increases in material wealth and leisure. The national priorities
shifted rapidly as Nigerians embrace the increased material wealth with poor
planning and abundant waste. The cost of running the government enlarged
bureaucracy and social programme increased tremendously as money realized from
the oil boom was squandered with impurity. Inflation, affluence and ostentation
life- style became the habits of Nigerians.
A decade later, in the 1980’s the fail
i8n oil prices presented a big blow on the Nigerian Economy. The financial
plight of the nations’ book on crises, inflation, lack of liquidity and
unfavorable balance of payment forced the government to introduced several
economic survival package such as: the economic stabilization and
reconstruction of policy, by the shagari administration and numerous reforms
and commissions set up to bring spending sanity on the populace to a lower
level for improvement of the situation in the near future. For these reasons
accountability or the demand for public offices to give account of public
resources, be it funds, properties, public statement, personal behaviors,
actions, performance will continue to be of great concern to government policy
makers.
As the public continues to feel an
increasing painful economic pinch, the management practices of public officers
will be under great scrutiny. If government and public officers cannot account
for the way they use resources, then there will be a complete loss of
confidence and trust on programme, necessary resulting to general apathy and
discontent among the populace and even a breakdown of law and order. Thus, the
inherent problem, facing the government is to device ways and means of making
public officers accountable to the taxpayers for the scarce resources under
their care and for their actions while discharging their duties. In essence, accountability
in public administration refers to efficient management of resources for the
general welfare of the citizens. This idea will be fully developed in the
proceeding discussions.
However, the
modest intention of this paper is to examine several government policies aimed
at inability accountability among public officers, determine environmental
factors that militate against accountability, and postulate strategies for
prudent financial management and propriety among officers. Pursuit of these objectives
wills necessitates relevant discussions of accountability corruption, as a
mechanism for controlling waste, property values and efficiency in the
management of public of fund.
In Nigeria
today, accountability has become of great concern to both the government and
the taxpayers. Accountability to public administrators refers to prudent in
financial or materials management of scare resources. It connotes the idea of
doing more with little and being able to account for every aspect of the resources involved in the process.
To max
Weber, accountability entails “mental revolution” of the workers so as to
embrace every fact of the efficiency theory. Thus, accountability involves a
process by which a public officer can be able to give account of his
performance through a process model of input-process-output.
Accountability refers to a situation
where; “a public officer takes charge of the property belonging to the public.
This implies that there is a contractual agreement either by verbal or written
or simply understood that a public officer must give an account of his actions
in regard to the property to the owner (the public, government or his
representatives).
If anything
has bothered careful observers in recent times, it is the manner in which
public finances and properties are wasted with impunity either by embezzlement,
arson, accidents, mismanagement or inefficient application one can stop for a
moment to wonder whether the abandoned machineries, equipment cars found
littered all around our government house and the government ministries belonged
to one person, wouldn’t the person immediately repair them and put them back
into use? The view expressed by Ejiofor in his writing is similar to the above
he stated thus, “that smart massagers, clerks, administrators, executives,
ministers, commissioners, military, governors and even head of state were found
guilty over alleged criminal, and, man over of public fund, material and
resources’.
Likewise
Ugwu in his own contribution said “that civil service is notable for waste and
inefficiency which can be attributing to bureaucratic straight adherence to
routines and procedures.”
In the past,
cases of embezzlement involving millions of naira have been uncovered in
various ministers in the local government, state which the attitude of public
officers and government towards the offence has been luke-warm. This in effect
encourages more embezzlement, as punishments methods on offending public
officers are lesser than the offence committed.
Most
Nigerian have grown to accept and conceive public offices as a “money making
machine.” There is nothing new in public officers making one millions of naira
after one year of office whereas his salary is not to two hundred thousand
naira annually. The extent to which corruption has infested and infact polluted
our public institution is far unimaginable. A panel constituted by the
government was saying “there were 10 to 70 outstanding audit quarries inn
connection with expenditure vouchers for federal non-accounting ministries and
local government covering the eight year period 1965 to 1972.” Ejiofor summarized the issue on
accountability in his theory as follows:
(a) The average Nigerian is corrupt, dishonest,
nepotism, tribalistic and lazy and is all the time seeking for the opportunity to
defraud and cheap his employer.
(b)The
Nigerian society does not reward hard work, diligence, objectivity,
selflessness, patience and inventiveness; the emphasis is on shortcuts,
self-satisfactory, now-now and quick.
(c) The environment in Nigeria is not conducive
for effective and efficient running of organization(s), a pre-condition for
Notional development
In this
study, which is meant to the dilemma of accountability in public sector
reporting with particular reference Enugu state Post Primary school management
Board. Who can be accountable for their actions and behaviors and also for the
resources under their care?
A nations
development and growth potentials are measured by the ability of its’ public
officers level of accountability both while in the office and long after when
they have left office.
Hence,
accountability should be critically examined to provide some guide towards the
transformation of the economics growth and development in our country, Nigeria.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM.
Accountability
has a very large effect on the Nigeria economic growth and development. In
Nigeria today, accountability has become of great concern to both the
government and the taxpayers. Accountability in public administration refers to
prudence in financial and, material management of scare resources for the
general welfare of the citizen. It is concerned with the idea of doing more
with little and being able to account for every aspect of the resources
involved in the process.
Many factors
militate against accountability in our nation. These factors are instruments of
mismanagement of public funds instability of tenure officers, hereditary
influences, administrative loyalty and eye –service syndrome and institution
inefficiency. The contains poor accounting conduct in our public sector is
contributory to the under development of both local and the nation as a whole.
The conations poor accounting conduct in our public sector is contributory to
the underdevelopment of both local and the nation as a whole. The extravagant
attitude exhibited by public officers who have amassed public finds and the
socio economics effects of their acts have been a subject of national concern
in recent time.
Thus the
inherent problem facing the government is to device ways and means of making
public officers accountable. A number of public financial ethics have evolved
to support the need for adequate account ability in the management of public
finals; these affirmative ethical principles include in department integrity and
objectively include all proper transaction from the view point of generally
accepted accounting principles and possession of competence and technical
standards.
1.3 THE OBJECTIVES OF STUDY
The aim and objectives of this
study include;
i. To identify the various factors
that militate against accountability in Enugu state post primary school
management board.
ii. To determine the dilemma of
accountability in public sector accountability.
iii. To determine the attitude of
Nigerians towards accountability
iv. Finally, to suggest based on the
findings some remedies for appropriate accountability among public officers
1.4 RESEARCH
QUESTIONS
The research
questions are:
i. What are the dilemma for efficient
accountability and the cause of inefficient accountability?
ii. Whose responsibility is it to
ensure that effective and efficient accounting system operates or exists?
iii. What are the prospects of accountability
in public sector in order to circumvent the inherent causes of inefficient
accounting system.
1.5 RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS
In order to
reflect on the relevant ideology needed in the research work, based on public
sector accounting, the research work is enclosed on the following hypothesis.
These are built into Null hypothesis, Ho and alternative hypothesis, Hi.
HYPOTHESIS 1
Ho: Improper management and
accountability of public fund had not led to unemployment and uneven
development among various states of Nigeria.
Hi: Improper management and
accountability of public fund has led to unemployment and uneven development
among various states of Nigeria.
HYPOTHESIS 2
Ho: There is no positive relationship
between the amount of tax paid and the benefit derived from the payment.
Hi: There is positive relationship
between the amount of tax paid and the benefit derived from the payment.
HYPOTHESIS 3
Ho: The public fund has not been wisely
utilized towards maximizing their collective benefit in Nigeria.
Hi: The public fund has been wisely
utilized towards maximizing their collective benefit in Nigeria.
1.6 THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
Research
data from this study will add more facts to the existing body of
knowledge. It will show the causes of
poor accountability attitude and lack of proper adequate accounting system of
our public officers in Nigeria. This study will also provide a way of tackling
such problem.
It should be
noted that accountability applied both to the obligation to perform work and to
exercise authority. This means that accountability is always an upward activity
this study should be of immense importance to all the financial studies
students. The accounting students need this study should be of immense
importance to the entire financial studies student. The accounting student
needs this study for their continuous learning while other departments need it
for the understanding of monetary policy. It can also of valuable use to the
following: -
(1) To the student, it will provide a
compliment to the few exiting text on monetary and material resource
accountability
(2) To researches, it will serves as a
valuable source of data
(3) To the policy makers, it highlight the
mechanism or methods of enforcing account ability in public administration,
against achieving set of goals and objective, it also analyses and suggest
solution to the problems facing accountability in public sector.
(4) To the investors, it serves as a guideline
on the effect of accountability on public sector of the economy in which their
funds can be invested and finally.
(5) The study of accountability helps the
bankers in analyzing the effect of government activities on the overall economy
and how it will improve the rate of economy growth and development in Nigeria.
1.7 SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
However,
this research is vividly restricted to Enugu state post primary school
management Board. The research topic is broad, theoretical and analytical in
nature and can be undertaken with respect to any part of the local government
for example, cash management, internal control performance and efficiency. This
is the reason for the limitation of the study in the below aspects.
The limitation of this study can be
emphasized by the following:
i. General Financial arrangement
ii. The restriction of data pertaining
to public sectors of the economy. It therefore becomes difficult to assess the
impact of accountability on public administration.
iii. The erratic nature of government, in
Nigeria, there is a great deal of instability in government, therefore economic
financial development policy are never stable. It makes accountability in
public sector very difficult and
impossible of achieving any economic growth and development since it keeps
changing with the advent of each new government.
iv. The inability of the financial
authority and administration to provide adequate statistics on the performance
of accountability measures adopted by them.
This is
largely, due to the problems of illegal actions of the officers / citizens who
attempt to thwart the effect of the government in public sector.
1.8 DEFINITION OF TERMS
There are
terms, which were frequently used in implementation, operation and execution of
an efficient accountability in public sector and are defined and explained as
follows:
a.
Accounting: - By 1966, the American Accounting Association interpreted accounting
as: the process of identifying, measuring and communicating economic
information to permit informed judgments and decisions by the users of the
information. Accounting is also concerned with quantification of economic
events in money terms in order to collect record, evaluate and communicate the
results of past events and to aid in decision – making. This definition
embraces the local government accounting. I’m pendley (1993) defined Accounting
as a discipline for providing information and evaluation of such information.
For the purpose of this research, the objectives of accounting are as follows:
Making decisions concerning the use of limited
resources, including the identification of crucial decision areas and
determination of objectives and goals.
Effectively directing the controlling
of an organizations human and material resource. Maintaining and reporting on
the custodianship of resources and facilitating social functions and controls.
b.
Accounting system: According to Jawhar (1985) the accounting system includes
the various techniques and procedures used by the accountant (prepare) in
measuring, describing and communicating financial data to users.
C.
Accounting Policies: According to statements of Accounting standards (SASI).
These are those bases, rules, preparing and presenting financial statements
judgment is required in the choice of the accounting policies which are
appropriate to the circumstance of an enterprise and are best suited to present
the true and fair view of its’ results and financial position
d. Internal
control: According to R.N. Goyal and C.B. Gaur (1982), internal control, is a
wider term. Internal control which
also includes internal check is the whole process or system of controls,
financial, management and otherwise established by management to enable
business to function in an orderly manner, ensure the security of its’ cash and
property as well as the keeping of accurate and realize records. The purpose of
internal control is to present errors and fraud or discover them in time if
they occur.
e. Economic
development: According to Augustine E. Ejili
(1996) Economic development is a process whereby the real per capital
income of a given economy increases over a period of time. Economic development
entails economic growth accompanied with solid institutional, political and
other appreciable changes in the economy.
f. Public
administration: According to marshal Dirneck, public administration is a
process concerned with what and how of government. The coordination of all
organized activities having as it’s purpose the implementation of public
policy.
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