CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Accountability as seen by Iwumunne (1982:56) is the goal of any business entity. A mismanaged form is a failure. The main aim of business is profit maximization. This cannot be achieved if financial mismanagement is enthroned in any form . in any business setting, the priority of management is to enable the firm to continue to finance its undertaking. This cannot be achieved without due regard to prudent financial administration According to Muola Otanka (1975) the spirit of continuity of a business is the careful administration that will administer the financial undertakings. Really, the issue of financial impropriety has made many business collapsed. There are many ways to check the menace in both public and private life. Any method used is subsumed in effective control system which primarily cues form internal control. According to Jonah Jenny (198212) internal control can be perceived in the following ways: -Good record keeping of all transaction in the shop and factory -Shop and factory -Good stock control system -Well-coordinated channel of raw material procurement -Articulate handling of organizational behaviour seen kin the enterprise -Effective trade union administration -Efficient redundary control -Good personal administration -Avoidance of waste -Good structural organization -Acceptable party with government policies -control of acquisitions -Good pension scheme There, he said are not exhaustive. It is when management recognizes the necessity of effective internal control system management of material and resources is very much possible. Quoting the issue of bank distress.
Akinloye Oyibanyi (1999:86) observed that may factors contributed to the reason why banks failed. Right loan administration to project supervision, there was no commitment to the whole affair everybody administration has loan process. The banks collapsed due to lack of financial prudence, which is a clear cut example of management in capacitating To have effective control of material men and machine management need grassroots control affected through monitoring of pay financials disbursement. The issue at stake is that good internal control is a necessary condition for efficiency of any organizations. To state it differently, any organization that opts for a continued business entity must be prepared to timely check the personnel, procure the fight type of personnel, train them on the technical aspect of the work and teach equity and justice in finance appropriation The financial manager must be a model of sound background of prudent handling of money. That bank failed means that management failed. In the small-scale business, there is the tendency to effectively manager the resources well. This is due to the man-to-man approach of the management The system of internal control is comparatively higher than that of public sector. It is in this note that management of small-scale enterprises is mostly looked upon as very efficient in financial management This is not to say that they are not without any blame. Infact, they do not reap internal economic of scale at least in the developing world due to their largess. But in the areas of prudent handling of finance, they out weight the public sector. This could be due to the own-personal nature of the business. The prevailing economic crunch in the country is also attributed to the lack of effective internal control system. Being that the head of any development nation is in the business of the private sector, the way internal control is handled that area is suggestive of the level of development revealing. Besides, the competitive nature of industry require good internal control system. Issues that are central to the effective internal control system include: organization, authorization and approval, physical control, personal capabilities, arithmetic and accounting managerial control and supervision.
According to Wabare (1998) the central idea of auditing and investigation is to prevent Wastes in financial appropriation, which is the bedrock of effective internal control system anywhere. He observed that no meaningful internal control existed outside the principle and ethics of auditing in all its four cardinal principles advisory, implementation reporting and routine testing auditing tries to foster the spirit of corporation and control resources. This helps to keep the business on.
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
The subject of financials accountability has en a controversial issue even month the early philosophers. Plato condemned usury (i.e. the use of money in trade) according to him for the attendant “social its unethical reason (1) The debate has continued in the contemporary business world, albeit, in different magnitude and directions. In addition to the above, the peinlia nature of the Nigeria economy has made any topic in accountability, financial or otherwise, worth discussing. Nigeria has had her fair share of financial improperly both in the public and private sectors. T his not quite unconnected with her political set up. The history of the evaluation of her financial institutions and level of the country” development. The research has therefore been reduced to the firm (micro) level and emenite limited Enugu has been carefully selected to be used in drawing a line of parallel between the level of accounting in the public and private sectors Control is an adjunct of accountability. The extent of financial accountability therefore should be reflected to the extent of the working control mechanisms with the particular organization.
The fact both public and private sectors make use of control measures indisputable. The extent to which they employ this and how it has improved their finances is called to question. The effective means, by which they empty internal control to safe guard assets collect debt or pay creditors etc. is the issue at stake. Its should be stated abinition that the internal control under discussion here is not the myopic type, which advocates only the prevention of fraud and embezzlement of, control over all organizations activities. In the words of a management expert internal control companies the plan of organization all co-ordinate method and measures adopted within a business to safeguard it assets, check accuracy and reliability of its accounting data, promote operational efficiency and encourage adherence to prescribe managerial policies: (2) Put differently, the general conception of internal control have is that it should be effective enough to cause probity in all the organization activities with a resultant disciplined financial atmosphere in the organization. This is the manner of internal control which will be emphasized throughout paper.
SHORT BACKGROUND HISTORY OF EMENITE LIMITED ENUGU
1.1 COMMENCEMENT OF OPERATION
What is now know as Emenite limited was established and subsequently registered on October 6th, 1961. According to the researcher’s source, the was registered under the name Tuner asbestos cement Nigeria limited with a registered head office at Lagos and a factory at Emene, Enugu. The original owners were TURNERS AND NEWALL a foreign based firm. Owing to the indigenization decree, the name was changed to TURNERS BUILDING PRODUCTS, LIMITED, EMENE-ENUGU, in March 22nd, 1996 and the head office was resultantly moved from Lagos to Emene, Enugu Them East central state acquired shares in the firm
1.1.1 OWNERSHIP: Nevertheless the foreign based parlour retained the majority shareholding of 51% leaving as the researcher gather, TURNERS AND NEWALL sold all their shares to ETEX group another foreign company based at Belgium. The name of the company was then changed from TURNERS BUILDING PRODUCTS LIMITED TO EMENITE A name it has continued to bear till date.
1.1.2 PRODUCTS: The main business of the firm is manufacturing and distribution. They manufacturing such products as ceiling boards, corrugated roofing sheets, roofing files, flower pots and pressure pipes. The firm which produces at about 30% of the installed capacity, has a total of (8) Eighty staffers.
STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
Every policy formulated in board rooms would have been a success if they were being carried out there too. Unfortunately, adherence to planned policies my employees ins the problem of many management of companies. Peter F. Doucker noted that management is the act of getting thing done through to others. The owner of every business expects a reasonable return on their investment of who executes the policies. The problem of policy execution is further compounded by the evolution of large organization. Personal supervision of the employees by individual seems an attempt at impossibility with large spans if control. There are therefore the needs for an internal control system. Internal control is such an indispensable tool in the hand of management if to wish to obtain adequate and useful information, protect company assets and control successive operation, but despite the established necessity for installing do not need for it, and they of course wallow in the flimsy excuse of its expensive nature. This is the first problem.
The other thing to think about is the effectiveness of control procedure the internal control is at all established. The effectiveness of control procedures the internal control is at all established. The effectiveness of control procedure is a function of the fact that segregate duties are not being circumvented by the collusion of the employees, negligence and mistakes or even personal factors. These factors are problem to the firm and eventually control system if not lathen care of. The above mentioned problems give rise to the following basic questions:
a. How adequately are employees or subordinate adhering to internal control measures?
b. What standard should management adopt as lest of observance of control measures?
c. Should internal auditing be an adequate means of checking internal control
d. Should the effectiveness of internal control be relied for adequate financial accountability? This question will be addressed in subsequent chapters of this paper.
OBJECTIVES IF STUDY
A research into internal control any organization is a research into its efficiency, profitability mechanisms and viability prospects it is the purpose of this study, therefore to have a chose look at the cost of internal control existing in Emenite limited. If there is any then to know how efficient this has assisted in alluring financial accountability. Specifically, the objective include
1. To ascertain that there is adequate division or segregation of duties at various levels of management
2. To ascertain whether there is a system of adequate authorization and recording transaction to provide reasonable accounting control over assets, liabilities, revenue and expenses
3. To find out what step have been taken to rectify inefficiency when detected
4. To know if there have been irregularities that has unnoticed in the establishment
5. To determine whether adequate punishment is meted out ot those found to over-step control measures to prevent further occurrence of such defects in the future
6. To know action that can be taken to forestall the situation and see that probity is maintained
7. To undertake a critical appraisal of the cystan generally and to suggest solution where the system is seen ineffective and
8. Finally, to build an analytical model to explain the network of an internal control system
FORMULATION OF HYPOTHESIS
Based on the problem and objective of the research, the following hypothesis are formulation
1. HO: effective internal control system does not enhance financial accountability
ii. HO: Effective internal control system can eliminate fraud not enhance prudent allocation of a firm’s resources
iii. HO: There is no financial accountability in the private sector of the Nigeria Economy
SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF STUDY
Scope: The areas the survey covered include practically all company activities especially those be reduced to financial terms .these area will include purchase of raw material hiring, firing of personal, production and sales payment and collection of debt etc. through internal control is board concept, the control measure will be the only one is computed for analytical purpose. Respondent to the study will a straddle our all departments and even beyond the company. However a certain sampling procedure as will be seen later, is adopted to achieve a certain level of reliability of the data .
LIMITATION
Conducting research in third world countries could be any thing but easy. The problem association research generally is always compounded by the complete lack or inadequate of data. This however, has been attributed to the non-availability of a computed system in these of this research. The following problems have raised their ugly heads.
i. The prevalent poverty, situation in the country has prevented the research from making frequent visits to the company as many times as are necessary
ii. Another frustration is due to the “come today come tomorrow” syndrome which people in authority have enjoyed issuing as a cheap excuse for being momentarily busy.
iii. Respondent show lackadaisical attitude when they discover there is no financial reward which might be to them in the exercise some keep the questionnaires for so long while others never bother to return them
DEFINITION OF TERMS
There are many variable that need definition under this leading. It will never amount to an exercise in question to use discernment to advance which world will occur in the process of this research. However, the following word will occur in the process of this research. However the following words and phrases are most likely to be used in the research. If others apart from these occur, they will be added duly
1. Active respondents: Those interviews that were administered with the questionnaire and where results were actually received
2. Controls: Measures adopted by the management of an organization to check the activity of the employees by placing restriction or giving authority to people in particular positions regarding the transaction of the organization.
3. Data: the amount of information available from the research survey, from which interpretation are made and recommendations supported
4. Development: A continuous growth or enhancement from the observed position into a more functioning object
5. Employees: a number of the organization who as a specialist work in conjunction with other staff for the achievement of the organization object
6. Management: a ground of people responsible for the formation of organization Polices
7. Organization: he establishment (firm) wealth goal to enhance the stockholders wealth very performing certain objections the general public.
8. Policy: the method and adopted rules in the operation of the company,. which has been consistently followed over a long period of year
9. Private sector firms organization/ with profit motive expressly or implied attached and have majority of the shares in the hands of the public.
10 Public sector: the entire part of the business world in which government is the sole owner or own majority of the share capital. It oversees the running of the firm with little or no place for profit to break even and profile social as such.
