...ABSTRACT Nigeria is an oil rich country, as a matter of fact the sixth largest oil producer world over, the 26th largest economy in the world and Africa’s largest economy. Paradoxically, this same resource-rich nation ranks among the five “extremely poor” nations of the world, ranking 153rd with a Human Capital Development Index of 0.471 according to UNDP in 2013. Of course this does not portend economic development. What is however, not surprising is Transparency Internationals’ Corruption Perception Index which ranks Nigeria as one of the most corrupt countries in the world, coming 144th out of 177 surveyed countries. This paper therefore seeks to examine the accountability of public officers in Nigeria and their effects and bearing on the economic development of the nation. It also looks at the factors militating against public sector accountability and the ways of achieving accountability in the public sector. The study uses historical data and a descriptive approach of study; it was found that Public sector accountability is essential to economic development in Nigeria. And the nation seems to exist at two extremes, abundant resources at one extreme, and poverty at the other extreme due to lack of accountability in public sector. Amongst others, it is recommended that the legislature should champion the accountability process, the Nigerian society should be re-orientated on value process, and whistle blowers should be protected to achieve accountability and economic development...
Words: 5594 - Pages: 23
...statements of cash flows? Blockbuster was reporting the cost of the buying DVDs in the investing part of the flow. However, after talking to the SEC they decided that these costs should be placed onto the operating cash flow. This had a large negative effect on their operating cash flows during the restatement periods 2. Read SFAS #95, paragraphs 24 and 85-87, and explain how this relates to Blockbuster. This is very similar to what the standard is referring to in paragraph 24. It is an asset that is rented out for a short period of time and then is sold when the movie become a little older. Paragraph 87 describes some of the situations in which classification is not totally clear. It says an item needs to be recognized based on the predominate source of cash flow. In this case the DVDs lead to rental revenue, which are part of the company’s operations. Read the article: “Quick Cash via Receivables Deals Can Leave a Blurry Fiscal Picture,” by Michael Rapoport, in Wall Street Journal, June 16, 2006, p. C3. 3. What “trick” can companies use to boost their operating cash flows, at least in the short run? Companies can securitize their accounts receivables. They bundle their receivables and then using an off-balance entity they sell these securities. The company will receive cash from these securities with the promise of paying back the investors when the customers pay the receivables. This allows them to increase operating cash flows and does not get...
Words: 395 - Pages: 2
...“Accounting for Cash Flow throughout the Business Utilizing Accrual Accounting Practices” Group 4 Kesha Smith Dave Rebar Amber Sabrina Tanisorn Ruengpinyophun February 17, 2012 Table of Content I. The Statement of Cash Flow II. The Statement of Cash Flow The statement of cash flow (SCF) is one major part of basic financial statements. The purpose of the SCF is to provide information about the cash receipts and cash disbursements of an enterprise that occurred during a period (Spiceland, Sepe & Tomassini, 2004, p. 198). The SCF reflects the liquidity and solvency position of a company. It provides inside information on the company’s ability to generate cash from its main operations, and it’s an indicator to help give information on future expansion. It also helps gauge the company’s ability to handle cash effectively. An analysis of the SCF will provide the company information on the funds available to help repay debts and repayment of assets (Lamas & Gregorio, 2009, p. 99). There are three primary elements of the SCF, (1) operating activities, (2) investing activities, and (3) financing activities; there are two other requirements: (4) the reconciliation of the net increase or decrease in cash with change in the balance of the cash account and (5) noncash investing and financing activities (Spiceland, Sepe, & Tomassini, 2004, p1188). Let’s get a better insight of the flow of each activity. Operational activities are the inflow...
Words: 931 - Pages: 4
...Topic: Cash basis versus Accrual basis of accounting The cash basis of accounting, sometimes called cash accounting, is still used by some small companies whose business activity is uniform throughout the year--receiving and disbursing roughly the same amount of cash each month. Many individuals also use cash accounting.( Edmonds, McNair, Milam, and Olds, Fundamental Financial Accounting Concepts, 4th edition, McGraw-Hill Irwin, 2002) In the cash basis of accounting, the business records are "cash in" (deposits to the bank account) called cash receipts, and "cash out" (checks) called cash disbursements. Cash receipts - Cash disbursement = Cash flow. Each month's cash flow is added to the preceding month's cash balance yielding the current month’s cash balance. The cash basis of accounting is more likely to be used by service businesses than by retail or manufacturing businesses. Service businesses usually do not need equipment and can sell a service they perform with nothing more than their own hands and minds. Think of people who are lawyers, writers, public relations and advertising personnel, and accountants. There are two problems with cash accounting: 1) A business has difficulty in determining if it is earning a profit unless it is a small service business that does not own any property or equipment and does not have a number of contracts in progress, and 2) A business cannot keep track of any asset except cash. The cash basis of accounting does a poor job of...
Words: 1465 - Pages: 6
...Topic: Cash basis versus Accrual basis of accounting The cash basis of accounting, sometimes called cash accounting, is still used by some small companies whose business activity is uniform throughout the year--receiving and disbursing roughly the same amount of cash each month. Many individuals also use cash accounting.( Edmonds, McNair, Milam, and Olds, Fundamental Financial Accounting Concepts, 4th edition, McGraw-Hill Irwin, 2002) In the cash basis of accounting, the business records are "cash in" (deposits to the bank account) called cash receipts, and "cash out" (checks) called cash disbursements. Cash receipts - Cash disbursement = Cash flow. Each month's cash flow is added to the preceding month's cash balance yielding the current month’s cash balance. The cash basis of accounting is more likely to be used by service businesses than by retail or manufacturing businesses. Service businesses usually do not need equipment and can sell a service they perform with nothing more than their own hands and minds. Think of people who are lawyers, writers, public relations and advertising personnel, and accountants. There are two problems with cash accounting: 1) A business has difficulty in determining if it is earning a profit unless it is a small service business that does not own any property or equipment and does not have a number of contracts in progress, and 2) A business cannot keep track of any asset except cash. The cash basis of accounting does a poor job of...
Words: 1465 - Pages: 6
...Accounting principles 2 Every business and organization needs some form of accounting principles to run on. They are the foundations that either makes or breaks a corporation or business. Businesses from the small corner drugstore to the giant health care organizations work using these accounting principles every-day, simply by understanding the techniques used we are to understand the functioning behind them. Several forms of accounting come up with a result, some of these are cash flow, accrual, and fund accounting. Their strengths and weaknesses as well as inventory accountability will be discussed further in this paper. Smaller company’s compared to say the larger scaled one would have the most problem with applying or using some of these techniques as well as differences between the nonprofit versus profit organizations. Reasons being managers need to know the costs of their budget by having a cost analysis and budgeting report prepared. Accrual accounting is measured by the performance as well as the position of a company in acknowledging the economic events of how cash transactions occur, and depreciation has to be estimated while inventory can be determined simply by doing an adjusting entry for the cost of goods sold. Economic events are matching revenues to the expenses to which a transaction occurs when payment...
Words: 1049 - Pages: 5
...MBA7001 Accounting for Decision-Makers Week 6 Lecture – Capital Investment Appraisal Slide 10.2 Chapter 10 Making capital investment decisions LEARNING OUTCOMES CHAPTER 10: Investment Appraisal Methods You should be able to: Explain the nature and importance of investment decision making First hour – 23.11.11 Identify the four main investment appraisal methods found in practice •Payback •ARR Use each method to reach a decision on a particular investment opportunity Discuss the attributes of each of the methods 1 Atrill and McLaney, Accounting and Finance for Non-Specialists, 7th Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2011 Investment Appraisal Investment appraisal methods used in practice Investment appraisal – the process of appraising the potential investment projects. Assessment of the level of expected returns earned for the level of expenditure made. Estimates of future costs and benefits over the project’s life. 3 • Every business would like to do everything • But it all costs • Capital expenditure on new projects or purchases (fixed assets) needs to be planned • Capital is always rationed Scenario: • Your business wishes to expand its product line • It is considering Products A and B but it can only afford to do one. • How does it decide? What main factors affect the investment decision • How much will it cost ? Investment appraisal methods used in practice • How much will I get back ? • When will I get the income ? • 4 main techniques available ranging from ...
Words: 1779 - Pages: 8
...RUNNING HEAD: ACCOUNTING PRACTICES AND ENTRIES PAPER Cheryl Abdur-Rahman Accounting Practices and Entries Prof: Agnes Samaniego February 13, 2010 Accounting practices and principles are at the heart of financial management (McLean, 2003). Every organization needs to have a viable accounting system in place. It is up to the organization to find the course of financial action that maximizes the well –being of the organization (McLean, 2003). Accrual principle requires that revenues be recorded in the period in which the associated service is performed, and that expenses be recorded in the period in which they are incurred regardless of whether or not cash has changed hands (McLean, 2003). On the other hand cash flow requires the investor’s initial contribution which is the same as under accrual accounting, but now is recognized as a source of cash (McLean 2003). Under cash flow accounting, a measure of a company’s financial health, equals cash receipt minus cash payments over a given period of time, or equivalently net profit plus amount charged off for depreciation, and depletion (Investor worlds.com, 2011). Fund accounting has a different concept, in which an accounting system is only used for governmental entities, including hospitals, clinics, and public health departments. Fund accountings are appropriation based, depending on appropriation from the public purse for their operating and capital funds (McLean 2003). To maintain...
Words: 882 - Pages: 4
...Accounting standards are the product of modernization which initially becomes the rules and regulations to govern the way in preparing financial statements. In these days, International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) are widely implemented, yet the underlying accounting practices are still unstandardized due to various factors of economic and cultural differences, just to name a few. In 2010, proposals were issued in Australia and New Zealand which aim to harmonize the standards as adopted in both countries (KPMG, 2010). The purpose of this paper is to study whether the given option of using the indirect method in reporting cash flow statement is beneficial to the users of general purpose financial reports. The paper is divided into five parts where it started off with a brief introduction of AASB 107, following by the reasons for harmonization, the arguments for and against the (in)direct method as well as some criticisms before moving into conclusion. Cash flow is vital to determine the potential of profitable firms as most firms under the basis of accrual accounting may still present favorable profits, despite having poor cash management. The objective of AASB 107 is to require the provision of information about the historical changes in cash and cash equivalents of an entity by means of cash flow statement (Australian Accounting Standards Board [AASB], 2013). In this paper, focus is concentrated in reporting cash flow from operating activities using either the direct...
Words: 1489 - Pages: 6
...Statement of Cash Flows Statement of Cash Flows Accounting is the major means of organizing and summarizing information regarding economic activities. The information provided by the accounting practices through financial reporting helps decision makers make appropriate business decisions. The statement of cash flows is one of the three primary financial reports that companies should include in external financial reports to its users according to the generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). The statement of cash flows provides pertinent information to its users. The Primary Purpose of Cash Flows “The primary purpose of the statement of cash flows is to show the changes in cash of a company from one period to the next” (Kieso, Weygandt & Warfield, 2007, p. 1121). The statement of cash flows focuses on the sources and uses of cash during a period. Another important purpose of the statement of cash flows is to explain the changes in cash and provide information related to the company’s operating, investing and financing activities to provide means for a company to implement strategies in short-term analysis and cash planning of the business for future benefit. Information Provided by Cash Flows “The statement of cash flows provides information to help creditors, investors, and other stakeholders to assess the company’s ability to generate future cash flows, assess the company’s ability to meet obligations and pay dividends, to understand the reasons for...
Words: 765 - Pages: 4
...The Importance of Accounting Theory to the Field Of Accounting The objective of theory is to explain and predict. One of the basic goals of the theory of a particular discipline is to have a well-defined body of knowledge that has been systematically accumulated, organized, and verified well enough to provide a frame of reference for future actions. The Webster’s definition of theory is the systematically organized knowledge, applicable in a relatively wide variety of circumstances, a system of assumptions, accepted principles and rules of procedure to analyze, predict, or otherwise explain the nature of behavior of a specified set of phenomena. Theories may be described as normative or positive. Normative theories explain what should. Positive theories explain what is. The goal of accounting theory is to provide a set of principles and relationships that explains observed practices and predicts unobserved practices. Meaning, accounting theory should be able to both explain why business organizations elect certain accounting methods over other alternatives and predict the attributes of firms that elect various accounting methods. Accounting theory should also be verifiable research. As stated in the Financial Accounting Theory and Analysis, the development of general theory of accounting is important because of the role accounting plays in our economic society, which is characterized by a self-regulated market that operates through the forces of supply and demand. The...
Words: 1885 - Pages: 8
...Direct Vs. Indirect Cash Flow Method A company reports revenues and expenses on its income statement. Since most companies use accrual accounting, the income statement reveals little about cash flowing into and out of the business. To provide an understanding of cash flows, companies turn to the cash flow statement, which includes a section that restates income on a cash basis. You can choose between the direct and indirect methods to report operational cash flow. Cash Flow Statement The statement of cash flows contains sections for three sets of activities: operating, investing and financing. Only the operations section deals with the question of direct versus indirect cash flows. By comparing the operations section with the income statement, you can identify the differences in timing between income and cash collections. Comparison also reveals timing differences between expenses and cash payments. Large differences might indicate that the company is very aggressive in recognizing income, or that the company spends a lot of cash to buy or maintain assets, a fact not apparent from the income statement. Direct Method When using the direct method, you list cash flows in the operations section of the cash flow statement. Cash flows due to operations arise from customer collections and cash paid to suppliers, employees and others. The section also reports cash paid for income tax and interest. The problem in trying to use the direct method is that a company might not keep the...
Words: 905 - Pages: 4
...The Purpose of Accounting ACC 290 September 13, 2012 Deborah Adams When discussing the purpose of accounting one must know what accounting is. According to dictionary.com accounting is the theory and system of setting up, maintaining, and auditing the books of a firm; art of analyzing the financial position and operating results of a business house from a study of its sales, purchases, overhead, etc. Accounting is very important concerning to the business world and keeping up with the money coming in and going out of the company, also a good sign for the people that invest in the business. Accounting helps to tell if it is worth investing in. there are four basic financial statements concerning to accounting, they are balance sheet, income statement, statement of retained earnings, and statement of cash flow. A balance sheet reports the financial position or snapshot of an accounting entity at a particular point. The balance sheet contains things such as amount of assets, liabilities, and stockholders equity. When completing a balance sheet since each asset must have a source of financing, a company’s assets must by definition equal the combined total of its liabilities and stockholders equity. Assets are the economic resources owned by the company. Liabilities are the company’s debts or obligations like bills, or credits owed. Stockholders equity indicates the amount of financing provided by the owners of the business and earnings. ("The Four Basic...
Words: 1060 - Pages: 5
...Accrual and Cash Accounting Accrual and Cash Accounting Kimmel, P. D., Weygandt, J. J., & Kieso, D. E. (2011) “Accrual-basis accounting (p. 166) Accounting basis in which companies record, in the periods in which the events occur, transactions that change a company’s financial statements, even if cash was not exchanged.” Accrual accounting is an accounting process that could be properly utilized by a large company. One example is a company that is turning over millions of dollars in revenue yearly. A large company that is generating that much money and turning it around yearly has to maintain large volumes of cash flow. Without the large volume of cash flow, the company would be unable to maintain high volumes. Because of the high cash flow, money is constantly coming in and going back out. One example in today’s market is Wal-Mart/Sam’s Club stores. A company this size can afford to use the accrual method because it does not have to maintain a close watch on how much actual money is in the bank at any given time. The retail company has cash flow to order inventory, make payroll, and pay other bills at any given time. The accrual-basis is a better accounting process because it accurately creates a picture of the actual profits during a given time. It can make for clear tax predictions as well as accurate projections. Averkamp, H. (2014) “The accrual basis of accounting provides a better picture of a company's profits during an accounting period....
Words: 592 - Pages: 3
...Accounting Theory Lesson 1: Accounting Under Ideal Conditions Lesson Objectives: 1. What would accounting look like under ideal conditions? ...................................................................... 1 1.1. Ideal Conditions under Certainty ...................................................................................................... 1 1.2. Ideal conditions under uncertainty ................................................................................................... 3 2. An application of present value accounting: Reserve Recognition Accounting (RRA) .......................... 6 3. How does current value accounting match up against historical cost accounting? ............................... 7 4. What prevents ideal conditions from existing? ......................................................................................... 7 Reference Material Scott, W. R. (2012). Financial Accounting Theory (6th ed.). Toronto, ON: Pearson Canada 1. What would accounting look like under ideal conditions? Before we attempt an answer to the above question, we need to specify what role accounting is expected to perform, and what we mean by ‘ideal conditions’. In this context, we assume that the role of accounting is to provide information about asset values, chiefly information on future cash flows. We take ideal conditions to mean that knowledge about key valuation inputs such as future cash flows and interest rate are publicly known. By “certainty”, we...
Words: 1819 - Pages: 8
