Public Accounting Reforms and Financial Management of Federal Government Agencies in Nigeria

Abstract

Scant empirical studies on public accounting reforms and financial management of federal government agencies necessitated the need to examine the relationship between public accounting reforms and financial management of federal government agencies in Nigeria. The population of the study comprised 90 federal government agencies, and a census approach was adopted due to the relatively small size of the population. Primary data were collected using a well-structured questionnaire anchored on a five-point Likert scale. A total of 240 copies of the questionnaire were distributed, out of which 209 were retrieved and used for analysis. The Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient was employed to test the formulated hypotheses using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 21. The findings revealed that the Treasury Single Account has a significant relationship with public expenditure management of federal government agencies in Nigeria. Empirical evidence also showed that the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System has a significant relationship with public expenditure management. Furthermore, the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System was found to have a significant relationship with public expenditure management. The study concluded that public accounting reforms have significantly improved financial management in federal government agencies in Nigeria. The study recommended, among others, that the government should strengthen the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System to fully integrate budgetary processes. Federal government agencies should be mandated to fully adopt the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System to enhance transparency and accountability. Additionally, all government agencies should be enrolled in the Treasury Single Account to reduce financial leakages. The adoption of technological infrastructure such as biometric verification systems is also recommended to improve efficiency in financial management. Government should strengthen internal control mechanisms and risk management systems to curb financial mismanagement and corruption.