Department of Accounting

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https://ir.unilag.edu.ng/handle/123456789/3531

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Browsing Department of Accounting by Subject "Accountability"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    Open Access
    A critical Examination of Government Budgeting and Public Funds Management in Nigeria
    (Emerald Publishing Limited, 2017) Ajibolade, S.O; Oboh, C.S
    Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to attempt an empirical examination of government budgeting and expenditure processes in Nigeria, a developing country. It examines the current state of budgeting and public funds management (PFM) in Nigeria. It also examines the extent to which the government has used the budgetary mechanism to effectively manage the nation’s economy. Design/methodology/approach – The paper employed simple regression estimation technique for data analysis. Time series data set of budgetary information was constructed from different archival sources over a 16-years period (2000-2015), majorly the national Appropriation Acts, press releases, regulatory and governmental reports, reports of Transparency International, World Bank and Central Intelligence Agency. Findings – The findings confirm that the nation’s annual budgeting approach is defective and lags in achieving its fiscal objectives. The budget indicates a state of poor accountability and transparency in PFM. Findings also suggest that the level of economic development in Nigeria is not commensurate with the size of government expenditure. Practical implications – The paper draws the attention of the government to the need to restructure its approach to budgeting and adopt a more resilient approach that suits its environment and economic peculiarities in effort to ensure efficient management and accountability of public funds. The paper also offers value to other developing countries. It provides empirical evidence that explains an aspect why the African continent remains underdeveloped hitherto. Originality/value – This paper lends a voice to the call for a restructuring of the Nigerian budgetary system and its implementation strategy. It advocates for the adoption of an alternative budgeting approach that matches Nigeria economic realities. The paper demonstrated that the traditional budgetary approach being used by many developing countries is limited in certain ways and could hinder sustainable development.
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    Open Access
    Does democracy breed accountability? The role of state executives in Nigeria, 1999– 2007
    (2012) Olatunde, J.O
    Accountability is a key to the effective control and management of public funds by governments in all democracies. It has been argued that financial criminal practices have become institutionalised in developing countries due to a lack of democratic systems and a lack of accountability. The purpose of this paper is to examine whether democracy promotes accountability by considering the role of state executives in corrupt practices since Nigeria returned to democratic rule. The paper uses publicly available information such as law reports, press reports and whistleblower accounts to throw light on the role of state executives in financial criminal practices. The paper suggests that, despite the institution of democratic values, political and economic checks and balances and so-called anti-corruption agencies, the ruling elite have become more corrupt while most Nigerians suffer abject poverty. This paper therefore suggests that Nigeria needs to reform its political system and institutions to promote integrity, accountability, to fight political corruption and to build public trust in the Nigerian government.
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    Open Access
    Exploring Corrupt Practices in Public Sector Management:
    (2012) Otusanya, O. J.
    The public sector is that part of economic and administrative life which deals with the delivery of goods and services by and for government, whether national, regional or local. Socio-political and economic developments in Nigeria have been distorted by high levels of corruption conducted and condoned by bureaucrats and by the political elite since its independence in 1960. This paper locates bureaucratic anti-social financial practices within a structure-agency interaction framework to argue that the inter-relationship between human actors and their social context both constrains and enables predatory practices, and it considers how this inter-relationship causes these anti-social practices to take place. The evidence shows that the involvement of bureaucrats and the political and economic elite in corrupt practices in Nigeria is facilitated by poor institutional structures and by a lack of will on the part of the Nigerian Government to curb financial crime. The paper also makes suggestions for reform.