Tax Structure and Economic Growth in Nigeria

The development of endogenous growth theory has opened an avenue through which the effects of taxation on economic growth can be explored. Taxes are the importance aspects of government revenue and they also act as means of transferring resources from the private sector to the public sector. Explicit modeling of the individual decisions that contribute to growth allows the analysis of tax incidence and the prediction of growth effects. This paper reviews the theoretical and empirical evidence to assess whether a consensus arises as to how taxation affects the rate of economy growth. It is shown that the theoretical models isolate a number of channels through which taxation can affect growth and that these effects may be very substantial. Although there are empirical difficulties, the empirical evidences point very strongly to the conclusion that the tax effect is very weak. Keywords: Tax, Structure, Growth, Economic, Nigeria.

The Role of Forensic Accounting in Combating Financial Crimes

The study examines the role of forensic accounting in combating financial crimes. The data for the study were collected through the administration of 100 copies of questionnaire to the respondents. The data was analyzed using chi square. The findings of the study showed that forensic accounting does not affect payroll fraud. Also forensic accounting can curb management theft. The study recommends that the management in the pubic and private sector in Nigeria should cooperate with the forensic accountants in order to tackle the issue of financial crimes. Keywords: forensic accounting, financial crime, corporate fraud

FORENSIC ACCOUNTING AND CORPORATE CRIME MITIGATION

The broad objective of this paper is to examine forensic accounting and corporate crime mitigation in Nigeria. The study was prompted by the dearth of research work on forensic accounting and corporate crime mitigation. Descriptive statistics and percentage analysis using Statistical package for social sciences (SPSS 17.0) were used to analyse the responses from the various respondents. Findings from the empirical result indicate that forensic accounting could be a valuation tool in strengthening corporate governance which could help to curb the menace of corporate crime in Nigeria. The researcher made useful recommendations among which are; corporate governance mechanisms should encompass forensic accounting in addition to its composition as contained in the Code of Best Practices on Corporate Governance as issued in 2003. In addition to the introduction of forensic accounting, the auditing profession should also not be left out in this all important innovation by embracing forensic audit to actually unveil fraudulent practices in Nigeria Corporation

Audit Report and Going Concern Assumption in the Face of Corporate Scandals in Nigeria

The study examined the issue of audit reporting and going concern in the face of corporate scandals in Nigeria. We adopted the survey research design. An instrument containing 20 items was designed using the 5-point Likert scales ranging from strongly agree (5) to strongly disagree (1).  A total of 60 samples were drawn from the target population using the simple random sampling technique. Out of the 60 questionnaires administered, 44 were returned upon which the analysis was based. Data analysis was carried out with the aid of SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences). The Chi-square statistical technique was used to test the hypotheses at 5% alpha level. It was found that there are differences in going concern reporting among independent auditors. We also found out using the data analyzed that there is a significant relationship between going concern reporting and corporate failures. The study recommended based on these findings, that all involved in the preparation and audit of financial statement must pay careful attention to going concern assumptions. Keywords: Audit Report, Going concern assumption, corporate failur

Compliance Audit and Corporate Financial Performance: Banks in Rivers State

The paper examined compliance auditing and corporate financial performance. The quasi-experimental research design is adopted for this paper. The respondents were managers drawn from banks operating in Rivers State. The research hypotheses developed in this study were analyzed and tested by the use of the spearman’s rank order correlation. Results indicated that there is a strong and significant relationship between auditing procedures and return on investment; there is a positive and significant relationship between auditing procedures and profitability; there is a strong and positive relationship between auditing rules and return on investment; and there is a significant and positive relationship between auditing rules and profitability. It was concluded that conclude that compliance auditing is a process of conducting audit in line with all the applicable known rules and procedures that gives an audit a high regard in the settlement of corporate governance issues and the enhancement of corporate financial performance of organizations. It was recommended that banks should plan their audit processes in line will all relevant standards and regulations guiding audit processes in order assess their performances; and banks should adopt the use of compliance audit process in order to achieve a comprehensive review of their organization’s adherence to regulatory rules and guidelines for the provision of valid and reliable audit reports for all stakeholders. Keywords: Compliance Audit, Corporate Financial Performance, Auditing Procedure, Auditing Rules, Return on Investment, Profitability

Human Resources Accounting Disclosures in Nigeria Quoted Firms

This study was carried out to ascertain the relationship between firms’ financial performance and human resources accounting disclosures on one hand, and the differences in human resources accounting disclosures reporting level between financial sector and non-financial sector companies quoted in the Nigerian Stock exchange.The study made use of secondary sources of data in eliciting the required information needed for this research. The sample size consisted of fifty (50) listed firms randomly drawn from all sectors in Nigeria. Multiple Regressions was used to analyze the possible relationship between firm financial performance and Human resource Accounting Disclosure in Nigeria, using the statistical package for social science (SPSS) version 15.0.The study finds that a positive relationship exists between the financial performance of a company and its level of Human Resource Accounting Disclosure. The study also indicates that financial companies are disclosing human resources accounting information more than non financial companies and that company’s profitability positively influences companies to report the human resources accounting information in their annual report. Keywords: Human resource, financial performance, disclosures

Environmental Auditing and Sustainable Development in Nigeria

This study seeks to examine the issues of environmental auditing on sustainable development. The quest for industrialization and sustained development in Nigeria and the attendant improvement in the quality of life of the populace has taken its toll on the environment. The domineering influence of economic sophistication on every aspect of living had negative climatic impacts which sustainability sets out to correct. As sustainability pursues equitable distribution of opportunities between present and future generations through conservative use of resources, economic development promotes uncontrolled consumption of resources to increase material wealth.   Primary data was collected with the use of questionnaire and the data were analyzed using descriptive statistics method, correlation matrix and binary logit. The study hypothesis was also validated. It was revealed that this result is quite distorting, which implies that the more environmental audit carried out the less the effect on sustainable development, environmental engagement and impact assessment. Thus it was concluded that while companies subscribe to the policy of being environmentally friendly, only few engage environmental audit services. This might be a fall out from the voluntary nature of environmental audit. KEYWORDS: Environmental Audit, Sustainable Development and Environmental Impact Assessment

Recent Development in Accounting Education and Accounting Practice

The objective of the study is to review the recent development in Accounting education and Accounting practice. The qualitative and library research was employed for the study. The study found that it has been found that the current accounting courses offered by several Nigerian universities are insufficient in meeting the labor market needs. Also found further that there is a significant disparity exists between employers and educators regarding the importance of graduate skills. It is therefore concluded that there should be a stronger relationship and collaboration among accounting practitioners, policymakers, and academic researchers are vital for shaping the future of accounting work and determining the type of accounting that will be practiced and studied. The study recommended that it is the responsibility of universities to establish a robust educational foundation for professional accounting training and it is imperative to reintroduce compulsory internship programs before graduation, similar to the practices in other professions like law and medicine