THE ROLE OF ACCOUNTANT IN MANAGEMENT AND LIQUIDATION OF DISTRESS BANKS

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACK GROUND OF THE STUDY

Banks play crucial roles in the process of economic development. By mobilizing funds from the surplus spending units into the economy and by on-lending such funds to the deficit spending units for investment, banks increase in the process. The quantum of national savings and investments through an appropriate investment multiplier, the volume of goods and services produced in an economy increases overtimes as a result of the investment projects embarked upon through banks funds. Also through banks direct and indirect contributions towards the growth of the national economy, they (banks) succeed in promoting an effective payment system, and in creating banking habits and in developing the society at large.

I intend to look at the possible reasons for bank distress and the effect of such failures on the rest of us before working at “the Role of Accountant in managing and liquidating distress banks’.A various times over the past five years of the structural adjustment programme (SAP) the banking industry had to cope with different types and forms of difficulties, all  in a bid to record and sustain what one call impressive performance.We have for instance been at different times, the removal and late re-introduction of calling on interest rate.
The seemingly notorious and dreaded stabilization securities have also become one sources of treasury management policy detainment that banks have learnt to live with.The term “Distress’ means great pain, discomfort or sorrow sufferings caused by want of money or mismanagement of money by bank officials which as we know is a complete rotation of the trust reposes in them by innocent investors.
The role of accountant in managing and liquidating a distress banks are being valued by expert values. The accountant has to be fully involved in appointing an expert liquidator who would then sell the assets and liabilities of the distressed bank by means of auction to the general public.In this case, it is not only that the property of the bank is being liquidated but also, the property of the debtors of the distressed bank. The liquidator has to fall back on the assets which the debtors of the bank used as their collateral when borrowing money from the bank.
The money being recovered from the proceed should be used to settle the creditors of the distressed banks. This so because the bank has been termed “DISTRESS” by the result of its inability to meet – up with the stipulated guidelines of having low capital and non-marketable assets base.
1.2   STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
There are many problems which could eventually lead to bank distress just as there are many possible cause of death of a human being.Some of problems are stated here but they are in no way exhaustive.
i)              Bad management
ii)             Inadequate capital
iii)            Risk assets port folio
iv)            Assets and liabilities management
v)            Boardroom crisis
vi)           Inability to adopt to changes
vii)          Fraud
viii)         Planning etc.
1.3            OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The researcher is precisely focusing mainly on the objective of the managing and liquidating a distress bank in the sense that she carried out her  study which intend to ascertain how the property of the distress bank should be disposed as a way of recovering in full or part of the money deposited by the customers during the banking operation. The study is also designated to highlight the consequences of liquidating a distress bank which include how exactly the assets should be valued to make sure that the action does not pay uses or making a pledge of paying later.
In order further, this course of study the following aims are being considered as some of the objectives of managing and liquidating of the objectives of managing and liquidating a distress bank.
a)                The accountant should see that the procedures for liquidation are duly completed before execution.
b)                To make sure that all the money which are suppose to be paid by auctioneers are fully recovered at the time and at the place of the auction.
1.4     LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
As a matter of fact, time posed a serious problem to the research work because of the time constraint, the research was not able to visit all necessary places to undertake a general study of the role of accountants in managing and liquidating distressed banks. In order that the work could be finished within the specified time period, the researcher conspicuously avoided some procedures that are time consuming.