Under-funding the Supreme Audit Institution Amidst the Rising Unauthorized Extra-budgetary Expenditures in Nigeria: Is Deliberate Under-funding a Fraud-concealing Device?

The executive (federal government of Nigeria) has recently been accused by the lower legislative house of deliberately underfunding SAI (office of the Auditor-General of the Nigeria federation) in order to conceal fraud. The legislature was reacting to the erratic reduction of SAI’s budget from N1.9 billion to N100 million when illegal extra-budgetary expenditure of about N16 trillion occurs annually. This study was therefore, carried out to determine whether the executive can conceal fraud by deliberately underfunding the supreme audit institution. In order to fulfil the study objective and answer the question posed by the study problem, internet sources, journal articles and literature review were used to generate relevant data for the research. The study revealed that deliberate underfunding of SAI to conceal fraud and other emerging fraud concealing devices are additional challenges to the existing ones and that the accusation of the executive (the auditee) of deliberately underfunding SAI to conceal fraud is true only to the extent that SAI’s budget and finances are controlled by the executive. The study recommended that financial autonomy, improved executive capacity, use of proactive approaches to eliminate fraud concealing devices will minimize audit challenges ensuring that SAI is not also contributing to the challenges it is currently facing. Keywords: Deliberate underfunding, supreme audit institution, unauthorized extra-budgetary expenditure, fraud-concealing device, the executive and the legislature

A Critical Literature Review: Reasons Why Illegal Extra-budgetary Expenditures Are Incurred by Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in Nigeria

Nigeria’s extra-budgetary or off-budget activities which did not pass through the usual legislative process of appropriation between 2006 and 2015 amounted to N21.8 trillion (about $109 billion)! In order to discover areas for further research, this study critically reviews the reasons why illegal or unauthorized extra-budgetary expenditures incessantly occur in Nigeria’s public sector. The findings from the literature show that the occurrence of illegal or unauthorized extra-budgetary expenditures in Nigeria is due to the following factors: insincerity, lack of knowledge and experience in budgeting and financial management, political considerations, lack of consistent legal framework, non-disclosure of extra-budgetary funds and audit failure. These findings consequently revealed the following critical areas in the existing literature that require further research: funding of the supreme audit institution, legislative oversight functions and use of government sanctions. Key words: Illegal extra-budgetary expenditures, extra-budgetary expenditures, extra-budgetary funds, legislative process of appropriation, fraud triangle theory and agency theory

Ethical Thoughts in Accounting And Their Effects On Accounting Practice

This study examined the effect of ethical thoughts in accounting on accounting practice in Nigeria. To achieve this objective, data were collected from primary sources through a well-structured questionnaire of four sections of twenty questions administered to a sample of one hundred and sixty one (161) out of which one hundred and forty eight (148) were completed and returned.  The questionnaires were administered to the registered members of the ICAN District Society in Calabar, Nigeria and data generated from the questionnaires were analysed using IBM SPSS V.20. The results revealed a significantly negative relationship between ethical thoughts and the accounting practices of corporate organizations in Nigeria. On the basis of the findings, the study recommended the following among others: Professional accountants as custodians and producers of accounting information should adhere to the codes of professional best practices issued by relevant professional bodies. Each organization in Nigeria should establish ethics departments to ensure that activities are in line with the codes of ethics, including the financial reporting process. The composition of the Board of Directors and Audit Committees should be made up of people with corporate experience, proven integrity and financial expertise. Greater efforts should be made by the relevant professional bodies to review their various ethical codes guiding members’ conduct or behaviour in practice and widespread enlightenment coupled with stiffer penalties for professional misconduct could also be a way out. Keywords: Integrity, objectivity, professional behaviour, professional competence and due care and accounting  practice. DOI: 10.7176/RJFA/10-6-16 Publication date:March 31st 201

Corporate Social Responsibility and Value of Industrial Goods Manufacturing Firms in Nigeria

Purpose: The aim of this study is to determine how corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices can influence the corporate performances of listed firms in the industrial goods producing sector of Nigeria and other developing countries.   Theoretical Framework: The enhancement of corporate value by CSR practices has become an interesting area of study for corporate managers and policy makers globally. The Stakeholder and Business Ethics theories have been used for this study. However, we anchor this research on the stakeholder theory which Edward Freeman propounded in 1984 and use it to evaluate the influence of CSR on corporate value.   Design/methodology/approach: The study uses the causal comparative research design and we purposively select a sample of four industrial goods firms from Nigeria’s listed manufacturing enterprises as at 31st December, 2021 based on their social responsibility relationships with the society, employees and creditors. We collect 19 years secondary data from the website of the Nigerian Exchange Group and yearly financial reports of the industrial goods producing enterprises. These data have been analysed using the ordinary least squares panel data regression, fixed and random effects models, stationarity test, cross-section dependence test the Hausman test.   Findings: The results show that corporate giving, employee welfare package and creditor days have significant positive effects on return on assets (a proxy of corporate performance) suggesting that the threat to profit-maximization is not caused by CSR but by illegitimate use of CSR by rent-seeking corporate managers.   Research, Practical & Social implications: The study helps in filling the gap in literature and serves as basis for the economic and social development of Nigeria, developed and other developing countries through a more legitimate CSR investments in corporate giving, employee welfare package and creditor settlement days.   Originality/value: The value of the study is that evidence of CSR success in the industrial goods manufacturing sector has for the first time been established using a time scope of 19 years and a firm-year-observations of 228. This study supports the claim that CSR is not a threat to profit maximization since it has a strong relationship with corporate value

Use of Service-Wide-Vote (Contingency Budget) for National Development: Evidence from Federal Ministries, Departments And Agencies in Nigeria

This paper examines the use of service-wide-vote (Nigeria’s contingency budget) for national development. Documentary pieces of evidence have shown that the Federal government of Nigeria through its MDAs has grossly short-changed Nigerians through the year-in-year-out mismanagement of the service-wide-vote. The objective of this study is therefore, to evaluate the extent to which Federal MDAs in Nigeria have been able to use the service-wide-vote to achieve national developmental objectives. To what extent has the service-wide-vote been used to develop the Nigerian Nation? In order to provide an answer to the foregoing question, primary sources, scholarly journals and reputable online and library sources were used to obtain research materials.  The study revealed that federal MDAs and even the EFCC abused the service-wide-vote to the tune of over N4.17 trillion between 2004 and 2018 due to non-compliance with rules governing the use of the vote and this made it difficult for the national developmental objectives of the vote to be achieved. The following recommendations were therefore, suggested by the paper: allocation of 5 percent of the annual budget to service-wide-vote, regular replenishment of releases from the service-wide-vote, obtaining approval from the National Assembly before releasing funds from the vote, roll over of unspent funds, prosecution of corrupt MDA officials and avoiding those sharp practices that will make the use of the service-wide-vote ineffective in achieving national developmental objectives. Keywords: Federal MDAs, National Development and Service-wide-vote DOI: 10.7176/RJFA/10-10-06 Publication date:May 31st 201

Corporate Social Responsibility and Shareholders’ Wealth of Industrial Goods Producing Companies Listed on the Exchange Group PLC of Nigeria

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to determine how the practices of corporate social responsibility (CSR) influence the wealth of shareholders of industrial goods producing companies listed on the Exchange Group Plc of Nigeria and other developing countries.   Theoretical Framework: The role played by CSR practices in enhancing shareholders’ wealth has attracted the interests of companies’ executives and policy makers all over the world. The theoretical foundations of this research work are provided by the Shareholder Value Theory, the stakeholder theory, the Business Ethics theory and the Agency theory. However, this work is anchored on the shareholder value theory propounded by Milton Friedman in 1970 and this is used to evaluate the influence of corporate social responsibility on shareholders’ wealth.   Design/methodology/approach: The study uses the ex-post facto research design and judgemental sampling technique to select a sample of 10 industrial goods producing firms listed on the Nigerian Exchange Group Plc as at 31st December, 2021. Social responsibility relationships with the society, employees, suppliers, customers, tax authorities and lenders provide the basis for sample selection. Information from the financial statements of the sampled companies was used to compute weighted average cost of capital (WACC), rate of stock turnover, actual corporate tax rate, invested capital, leverage, return on equity (ROE), value of debts and value of equity. This approach facilitates the computation of economic value added (EVA) which is used as proxy for shareholders’ wealth. Firm-year observations of 1,840, ordinary least squares panel data regression, fixed and random effects models, stationarity test, cross-section dependence test and the Hausman test are used for data diagnosis and analysis.   Findings: The research has disclosed that CSR to society positively and significantly influences shareholders’ wealth while CSR to suppliers and lenders have non-significant positive effect on shareholders’ wealth. Contrastingly, it is further revealed that CSR to employees and tax authorities have significant negative effects on shareholders’ wealth while CSR to customers negatively and non-significantly influences shareholders’ wealth.   Research, Practical & Social implications: The implication for managers is that CSR relationship with society is value enhancing in Nigeria’s industrial goods sector while CSR relationships with employees and tax authorities are value destroying. Value enhancing results of the dealings with suppliers and lenders and the value destroying result of the dealings with customers lack sufficient evidence. This research has helped in filling the gap in the existing literature and in serving as the basis for the economic and social development of Nigeria and other developing and developed countries of the world.   Originality/value: This is the first time in the industrial goods sector that we are associating four new corporate social responsibility variables namely, CSR to suppliers, CSR to customers, CSR to tax authorities and CSR to lenders with shareholders’ wealth. This study encourages the revival of CSR to employees and CSR to tax authorities which are currently value destroying in the industrial goods sector of Nigeria

Adaptation of the Wound Healing Questionnaire universal-reporter outcome measure for use in global surgery trials (TALON-1 study): mixed-methods study and Rasch analysis

BackgroundThe Bluebelle Wound Healing Questionnaire (WHQ) is a universal-reporter outcome measure developed in the UK for remote detection of surgical-site infection after abdominal surgery. This study aimed to explore cross-cultural equivalence, acceptability, and content validity of the WHQ for use across low- and middle-income countries, and to make recommendations for its adaptation.MethodsThis was a mixed-methods study within a trial (SWAT) embedded in an international randomized trial, conducted according to best practice guidelines, and co-produced with community and patient partners (TALON-1). Structured interviews and focus groups were used to gather data regarding cross-cultural, cross-contextual equivalence of the individual items and scale, and conduct a translatability assessment. Translation was completed into five languages in accordance with Mapi recommendations. Next, data from a prospective cohort (SWAT) were interpreted using Rasch analysis to explore scaling and measurement properties of the WHQ. Finally, qualitative and quantitative data were triangulated using a modified, exploratory, instrumental design model.ResultsIn the qualitative phase, 10 structured interviews and six focus groups took place with a total of 47 investigators across six countries. Themes related to comprehension, response mapping, retrieval, and judgement were identified with rich cross-cultural insights. In the quantitative phase, an exploratory Rasch model was fitted to data from 537 patients (369 excluding extremes). Owing to the number of extreme (floor) values, the overall level of power was low. The single WHQ scale satisfied tests of unidimensionality, indicating validity of the ordinal total WHQ score. There was significant overall model misfit of five items (5, 9, 14, 15, 16) and local dependency in 11 item pairs. The person separation index was estimated as 0.48 suggesting weak discrimination between classes, whereas Cronbach's α was high at 0.86. Triangulation of qualitative data with the Rasch analysis supported recommendations for cross-cultural adaptation of the WHQ items 1 (redness), 3 (clear fluid), 7 (deep wound opening), 10 (pain), 11 (fever), 15 (antibiotics), 16 (debridement), 18 (drainage), and 19 (reoperation). Changes to three item response categories (1, not at all; 2, a little; 3, a lot) were adopted for symptom items 1 to 10, and two categories (0, no; 1, yes) for item 11 (fever).ConclusionThis study made recommendations for cross-cultural adaptation of the WHQ for use in global surgical research and practice, using co-produced mixed-methods data from three continents. Translations are now available for implementation into remote wound assessment pathways