ABSTRACT
Accountants have been bestowed with the role of providing information to
the management regarding the affairs of the organization in particular
and to the stakeholders in general. Internally, in manufacturing
organization, management has always relied on the management accountant
for cost evaluation and performance efficiencies of cost element. This
role of management accountant to the management has been in doubt
because of incessant increase in the cost elements of goods manufactured
in Nigeria which in cause has resulted in constant increase in the
price of goods. The aim of this research study is to evaluate the role
of management accountant to cost control and profit performance in an
organization. a quasi-experimental research design was adopted for this
research study and the sample size was selected using the Taro Yamane
sampling technique. Primary and secondary sources of data were used in
collecting information which was analyzed using simple percentages. The
hypothesis was tested using chi- square statistical method at 0.05 level
of significance for validity and decision making. The findings from the
analysis of the research study depicts that organizational strategic
managers should rely on management accountant information for decision
making. Management of any manufacturing company cannot make profitable
decision without quality information. The researcher can confidently
conclude based on the findings that the availability of skilled,
knowledgeable and informative management accountant in an organizational
profit performance promotes productivity. Therefore, this research work
recommends that management accountants should provide information on
time so as to hasten up in making vital decision because undue delay in
decision making will definitely undermine the firms‟ goal of profit
maximization. Also, it recommends that adequate exposure should be given
to management accountants through training programmes, appraisal and
evaluation of seminars in order to acquaint them with the new
technologies in vogue and keep pace with new knowledge.

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Prices of goods and services are gradually increasing day by day, and
due to the fact that the sole aim of a businessman, producer or
manufacturer is to make profit they end up making use of low quality
materials for production so as to reduce cost of production and maximize
profit. Moreover, with the increase of competitors around, most of the
producers have thought it wise to manufacture or package a quality
product and also enhance their profit level. This elevated the interest
of the researcher to bring to light of how this goal can be achieved
through intensive study of the role of management accountants to cost
control and profit performance in an organization. Apart from cooperate
scandals; there has been anosmatic pressure for better profit
maximization as the business environment became more volatile, prices of
products increasing at an alarming rate, and the production of low
quality products.
In the past management accountants operation is strictly on workers
capacity usually separated from the managers for whom they provided
reports and information. But in this present period, management
accountant now serve as internal business consultants. Working together
in cross functional teams with managers from all sectors of the
organization.
However, the management face a broad array of decisions including
production, marketing, financial and other relevant decisions. Also
having in mind that decision making is a fundamental part of management;
the management accountant must be equipped with some knowledge of
accounts and management. He must have an understanding and knowledge of
the environment and the operations of the organization in which those
systems are implemented and appropriate technology to apply in each case
for the provision of management information. It is obvious that the
management of a manufacturing firm will need information that will
enable them consider the factors affecting cost of production, cost
reduction, product pricing and investment etc, so as to choose the best
alternative.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
In recent years, the cost of products manufactured in Nigeria has been
very expensive beyond the reach of common Nigerians. This cost
challenges has made many products manufactured in the country
unpatronized by the consumers, and as a result of that expires in the
hands of the sellers. There is also a problem of poor inventory
management which leads to overstocking thereby tying down the company‟s
working capital. Another problem facing some or most of the
manufacturing firm is the installation of improper plan to reduce cost
of production so as to maximize profit, i.e. ( making use of low quality
raw material).
Management accountants are assigned with managing cost elements of
products among other responsibilities. He aligns cost with efficiency;
provide required information for cost minimization so that profit could
be maximized. These assignments should reduce product pricing, but
instead there have been a consistent product price racketing. These
problems therefore brought the need for this research work which intends
to find the reason for this persistent increase in product pricing
where the services of management accountants were engaged and therefore
putting up the following questions:
Do management accountants perform in their responsibility?
Is cost performance inefficiencies of management accountants included in the product pricing?
Is the recent in price caused by other factors rather than elements of cost of production managed by management accountants?
How would the role of management accountant in an organization improve profit performance?
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
1 To determine the relevance of management accountant in an organizational internal cost performance efficiency.
2 to ascertain whether the resent increase in cost of products
manufactured in Nigeria is caused by other factors rather than
management inefficiency.
3 To ascertain if organizational strategic managers should rely on management accountant information for decision making.
4 To make recommendations based on the findings.
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
To what extent is management accountant still relevant in organizational internal cost performance efficiency?
Does the resent increase in cost of products manufactured in Nigeria
caused by other factors rather than management accountant inefficiency?
To what extent should strategic managers rely on management accountant information for decision making?
1.5 FORMULATION OF HYPOTHESIS
The following hypothesis was formulated for this research work.
Hypothesis 1
H0: management accountant is not relevant in organizational internal cost performance efficiency
H1: management accountant is relevant in organizational internal cost performance efficiency.
Hypothesis 2
H0: resent increase in cost of products manufactured in Nigeria is not
caused by other factors rather than management accountant inefficiency.
H1: resent increase in cost of products manufactured in Nigeria is
caused by other factor rather than management accountant inefficiency.
Hypothesis 3
H0: organizational strategic managers should not rely on management accountant information for decision making.
H1: organizational strategic managers should rely on management accountant information for decision making.
1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY.
The management accountant makes the necessary information available to
the management by the application of his skill and knowledge. The
significance of this study is to bring to the notice of the management
the exemplary role of the management accountant and the technique he
uses to provide information and also how these would affect the
operations and the attainment of the organizational goal if these
information provided are not recommended for use by the management. And
with such knowledge and information put to use, management would be able
to plan and control the organization such that the cost of operating
the business will be at a minimum while profit will be maximized.
And if the profit objective is achieved, the customer will benefit from
better and cheaper product while the investors will benefit from the
profit as well.
1.7 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The study is limited as it looks at the role of management accountants
to cost control and profit performance in an organization. A case study
of INNOSON Company Nigeria limited Emene, Enugu. This research work
intends to cover:
1. How managerial accountants should be able to adapt their generalized
knowledge of accounting to develop customized data and report that are
logical and support sound management process.
2. The reporting structure is well defined and standardized.
3. The methods of preparation of information and the report presented are governed by rules.
1.8 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
In the process of carrying out this research work, the most nagging
problem facing the study is how to obtain reference materials. The time
to carry out the research is short and insufficient, since it is done
alongside with some other courses to contend with so as to present a
good result. There are also difficulties associated with personnel‟s
accepting to give vital information which will be of help to the
researcher.

1.9 DEFINITION OF TERMS
Accountant: An accountant is a practitioner of accountancy or accounting
( referred as an accounting in the united states), which is the
measurement, disclosure or provision of assurance about financial
information that helps managers, investors, tax authorities and others
make decisions about allocating resources.
Management Accountant: are those key officers that provide business data
and analysis to managers within organizations to assist in decision
making and control.
Profit maximization: A process that companies undergo to determine the
best output and price levels in order to maximize its return. The
company will usually adjust influential factors such as production
costs, price of goods and output level as a way of reaching its profit
goal.
Performance; General accomplishment of a given task measured against
present standards of accuracy, completeness, cost and speed.
Management;: this is defined as the process of dealing with or
controlling things or people. It is the responsibility for control of a
company or similar organization.
Company: this refers to a legal entity that carries out business in its name.
Information: this means data that is accurate and timely, specific and
organized for a purpose, presented within a context that gives it
meaning and relevance,
and can lead to an increase in understanding and decrease in
uncertainty. Information is valuable because it can affect a decision or
an outcome. For e.g., if a manager is told, his company‟s net profit
decreased in the past month, he may use this information as a reason to
cut financial spending for the next month.
Decision making: the thought process of selecting a logical choice from
the available option. It is done to achieve a specific objective or
solve a specific problem

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