PUBLIC SECTOR ACCOUNTING IN NIGERIAN LOCAL GOVERNMENTS

ABSTRACT

One of the most researched and least understood variable public sector accounting is how the accountability and stewardship of financial control is conducted. Scholars have been speculating on how the funds generated are managed but now researchers have conducted systematic investigation of funds and leakages in local government revenue system.

Even with this, there is still an increasing difficulty and doubts in establishing the fact that the generated revenue is put to good use. There is also an evaluation of the source of revenue to the local government and the impact of the financial control system in the local government revenue system particularly, the revenue collection points where all derivable revenue are kept for safe custody.

The researcher designed a research instrument known as PSAFCSDP by acronym for public sector accounting financial control system descriptive questionnaire, which is made of hypothetic questions.

The instrument and interview questions were formulated and tested for validity before dispatching to the chosen sample populace. A stratified sampling technique was used for this study and sample is made up of both male and female staff of the local government area. The data collected were analysed and from the analysis there on, the researcher was able to reach the following funding and concluded that there is grant from federal and state to the local government area.

There is also a basket leakage in the collection of local government revenue. It was also conducted that the local government were not able to employ their resources in finding their projects due to political and selfish influence and more so inadequacies in fraud misappropriation and other leakages of public funds.

There is however, poor motivation of workers as a result of the God-father syndrome and swapping the laid down local government administration set up to an avenue of political judgment attitude for collection of revenue and work generally.

Based on these funding, the following recommendation are made. There is urgent and paramount need for the federal government to appoint an external auditor to audit the local government accounting system.

The day-to-day activities and the actions of the local government should be closely monitored and regulated by the federal government to ensure that there is sources accountability, stewardship and adequate financial control system.

Local government should adopt affection planning control measures and adhere to budgeting and budgetary control procedures instead of dividing itself with practical politics and bringing God father, son system in the local government system. IT is the strong belief of the researcher that his recommendation will go along way in establishing proper financial control and improves the performance of the local government system in Nigeria.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Public sector is that sector of the economy established and is operated by the government or agencies distinguishable form the private sector organized on the behalf of the whole citizen.

To public sector is device despite the privatization and commercialization of some government agencies and appraisals, the sector is still large. Almost all activity to be done in the public sector had to be done with political choice and the political choice play a tidal role in the resources allocation. It is government accounting. It is also define as compost activity of collection, analyzing, recording, summarizing and reporting the financial o the transaction for the government unit. The government either provided service on the natural scale or else redistribute fund, which are managed on semi – autonomous business. In Nigerian for instance, public sector accounting is based on the principle of fiscal federalism. This implies that the fiscal structure of the government is a reflection of its federal and political structure. The federal republic of Nigeria is made of three levels of government, which are the federal, state and local government being the third. All the three ties are guided by the constitution of the republic of Nigeria from which the government decide on who gets what and how allocation of resource to the three ties of the government are granted and those is executed through the process of budgeting unique. Things about public sector accounting is a threat legal instrument demand and delimits the form and the financial statement should take many time, they follow budgeting classification..

In the public sector, we have the federal government accounting, state and local government accounting respectively. The accountings in the federal and state level are the same in that both are made up of the same ministries, parastatals, emergencies and department. The 1976 local government reform and the 1988 implementation guideline on the application of civil service reform in local government service established a standard or uniform multi – purpose single ties government structure throughout the federation.. Consequently each local government accounting system is a replace of the other in term of personal position and function accounting system, financial flow, budgeting and budgetary control system, improved source of revenue and general administration. Significantly, a local government is allowed only six department, Vix personnel, work and housing, transcript, health, and social welfare, education, agriculture, and natural resources, financial and supplies., planning research and statistical department . Out of the size department, only the financial department, handed by the local government treasured is authorized to collect and keep all the revenue

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

One of the most thing n the researching and understood variables of the public sector accounting in the accountability of their financial control system. Scholars have been speculating on how the fund generated is managed. Only in the resent years have researcher conducted an investigation that yielded useful insight into the fund accountability.

The problems inherent are;

1. Whether the source of revenue available it the local government authority is enough for them
2. There is doubt that the revenue generated is put into good use
3. This is misappropriation and leakage of revenue in the local government
4. A time public doubt if the means of revenue to the local government are flexible or not
5. An insight will giving into the impact for the financial control in local government development
6. There is a particular concern on how the public finance in controlled

Conclusively, this feasibility study on the financial control of local government will critically make an assessment of the method used by the chairman and accounting officer in the embezzlement of the public fund.

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The major aim of the research is to aid the local governments improve on their revenue generation and collection to that point where all collectable revenue are actually collected and safely paid into the treasury and hence know how the collected revenue is managed. This evolution will be done in the following ways

1. To investigate and expose how and where local government money leakage in their internal generated revenue and collection process
2. To recommend strategies by which the local government can detail and prevent revenue leakage.
3. To determine also the problem facing the local government in the control and management of the public funds
4. To monitor performance and evaluate the management of the public fund in the local government.
5. To proved information that will be useful for planning and budgeting in the local government
6. To provide financial information useful to determine predict the economic condition of the government units.

SIGNIFICANCES OF THE STUDY

This research work ill be of paramount important basically for file group as the local government area, understudy, other local government areas, the reader, future researcher and the researcher himself as enumerated below.

1. The work is important to the researcher because this study is an academic exercise and part of the requirement for the award of the higher national diploma in accounting department to the researcher by the institute of management and technology Enugu
2. For other local government areas with similar finical problem of accountability, the study will enable the revenue collector and accounting officer to be aware of how to manage and control the fund of public without being question in the course of accountability
3. The researcher if the project would be enable to have a profound knowledge of how the revenue is generated and managed and while there are leakage of the generated revenue
4. It will help the local government area under study as a collective device after there areas of the deficiency have been highlighted with the regard to the generation and management of public funds.

STATEMENT OF HYPOTHESIS

Ho: there is not significant impact of the financial control system in the development of Nsuka Local government area

Hi: there is a significant impact of the financial control system in the development of the Nsuka local government area

Is there any fund leakage in the financial control system of Nsuka local government area?

Ho: there is no fund leakage in the financial control system for the Nsuka local government area.

Hi: there is fund leakage in the financial control system of Nsuka local government area.

SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

The research work has the following scope and limitation. This study could have generalized the local government in Nigeria but do to some other factor, the researcher now decide to peculiarized his study to a particular local government area – Nsuka local government area.

Secondary, some of the official are not appreciable and even when the researcher is opportune to interview them. There are bound to be short coming arising from basis, misinformation and deliberate distortion of fact by them.

Other factor include:

1. Short of finance
2. Time constraint
3. Lack for research facility

As a result to all this constraint, this study have been limited to Nsuka local government area only

DEFINITION OF TERM

Financial regulation: these are writing rules laid done by most authority to regulated their finance

Fund: a special amount of money rose for a particular purpose

Public sector: this is that aspect of the economy and expenditure made by the government once in a year

Public accountability: this means that the person charged with, determine, draft, and carry out policy in the central government.