FUNDING OF UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IN NIGERIA: CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS

Higher education is the instrument par excellence for development and there is the ultimate need to make it relevant and responsive to the needs of the society. A reliable and sufficient funding platform is a necessity for achieving access to and excellence in university education in Africa. Sources and systems of funding for Nigerian Universities have proven inadequate and innovative or alternative funding mechanisms have become very important more than ever before. This paper examines the funding debacle in Public and Private Universities in Nigeria. It presents the case study of Nigeria Higher Education Foundation (NHEF). Using the secondary data research methodology, it finds that private higher education is the fastest growing segment of higher education worldwide and African universities can as well be more active in getting funds from local institutions and global philanthropic support sources. It recommends, amongst others, the putting in place of a National University educational budget reform which gives unflinching priority to allocation of more funds and that actualizing the realization of suggested intensified creative financing strategies should be the responsibility of all major stakeholders of University education in Nigeria

Tax Expenditure in Sub Saharan Africa: The Nigerian Experience

The Nigerian government established the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategies(NEEDS) in 2003 to achieve its trade policy of which the reform of Nigeria Custom Services is one of the major functions. Over the years, custom and excise duties have been major sources of revenue apart from crude oil.However, the problems of corruption, fraud and malpractices together with inefficiencies and ineffectiveness in operations have hindered the desire to contribute maximally to the economic development of the nation. The central objective of trade policy was to provide protection for domestic industries and reduce the perceived dependence on imports; reduce level of unemployment and generate more revenues from the non-oil sector,hence tariffs on raw materials and intermediate capital goods were scaled down. Duty exemptions and concessions remain some of the quantitative policy instruments for attracting investment and boost domestic production. This paper will review; discuss Tax Expenditure and the Nigerian experience, especially on loss of revenue from custom

Forensic Accounting as Panacea to the Challenge of Crime and Violence in the Caribbean

Crime and violence are development issues in the Caribbean. The proliferation of crimes and violence in the Caribbean nations has been a growing concern. This paper presents the worldwide emerging discipline of Forensic Accounting as a veritable Panacea to the challenges posed by crimes and violence. Using the secondary data methodology, it argues that Forensic Accounting which is the intersection between accounting, investigations, and legal matters, will provide the lasting solution which is being earnestly sought to tackle the menace of crimes and violence in the Caribbean. The paper therefore, amongst others, recommends a national and international implementation of Forensic Accounting based measures as a unified approach necessary to fight the Caribbean’s related crime and violence problems

Human Resource Management and Accounting as Strategies for achieving Nigeria's Global Competitiveness through Vision 2020 Actualisation

A nation’s poor attitude to the development of its human capital is a devastating and worrisome challenge to the attainment of Vision 2020 and the chance that country would ever attain development. The level of education, the state of health of the human beings in any society as well as what is being done to improve same, speak a lot about the country's readiness for development and global competitiveness. This paper assesses the current Human Resource Management and Accounting Disclosure (HRMAD) practices in Nigeria, using financial service and manufacturing firms as the bases for study. Correlation and independent-t test analyses were done on data collected from secondary sources to assess relationships. Findings show that there is no significant difference in HRMAD practices between the Financial and Manufacturing industries in Nigeria and that there is a strong positive relationship between HRMAD and company size. The paper concludes that: there is arbitrariness in reporting human resource management activities; also, there is currently no legislation on reporting human resource practice, and this explains the lack of uniformity in the presentation of information on human capital in annual reports of companies in Nigeria. It recommends, amongst others, that for Nigeria to achieve vision 2020 and be globally competitive, there is the need to value and incorporate human resource in its financials while all relevant or concerned authorities should also look into coming up with a financial reporting standard on human resource activities

The Impact of International Financial Reporting Standards on Taxation

Accounting is shaped by economic and political forces. It follows that increased worldwide integration of both markets and politics (driven by reductions in communications and information processing costs) makes increased integration of financial reporting standards and practice almost inevitable. The connection between tax and accounting is a complex topic with many dimensions. One explanation for this is changes within accounting on the international level. This creates a challenge for tax law and a need to revisit the theoretical and practical foundations for the use of accounting as a starting point for taxation of companies. International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) is a standard format of financial reporting that is gaining momentum worldwide and is a single consistent accounting framework and is likely to become predominant Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (GAAP) in times to come. The aim of this study is to research International literature to gain an insight into the basis and form of divergence between accounting transactions and taxation accounting in relation to International Financial Reporting Standards

What Financial Inclusion in Nigeria Should Include

The high percentage of Nigerians who are financially excluded coupled with the enormous advantages of a financially inclusive economy provides justification for the dogged pursuit of financial inclusion policy by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and other stakeholders. Also, financial literacy has been identified as a key pillar of financial inclusion and that financial inclusion will be impossible without a robust financial literacy programme. Hence, the CBN has sponsored the development of both the National Financial Inclusion Strategy and the Financial Literacy framework for Nigeria. However, the financial literacy framework designed by the CBN seemed to be tended toward benefiting the financial institutions and the government more than the individuals to whom it is targeted. This is so because some fundamental aspects of personal finance and money management skills, such as personal cash-flow management and the process of financial freedoms among others are excluded from the framework. This paper is therefore fixated on explaining these concepts and showing how integrating them in the financial literacy blue print of Nigeria will not only expedites the implementation of the financial inclusion agenda, but will also reduce poverty and ultimately contributes significantly towards the achievement of sustainable and inclusive economic growth and development in Nigeria

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND THE ROLE OF FORENSIC ACCOUNTANTS

The formal mechanism of direction, supervision and control put in place within an organization ·in order to monitor the decisions and actions of its senior managers and ensure these arc compatible and consistent ·with the specific interest of shareholders and the various other interests of shareholders ·who contribute to the operations of the company is very fundamental to the sustainability and social relevance of any corporate entity. However, the challenge of poor corporate governance has been a leading factor in poor performance, manipulated financial reports, and disenchant~d stakeholders. In the modern day reporting climes, forensic accountants have come into limelight due to rapid increase in financial frauds, corruption, and white collar · crimes. They are in great demand for their accounting, auditing, legal, and investigative skills. ' This paper explores the valuable contributions forensic ac~ountants are positioned to make in the global task of stemming· the tide of Corporate Govemance failures in private and pub! ic organizations of the twenty-first century. Using the secondary data research methodology, the · paper finds that the engagement of forensic accountants will significantly expose and correct questionable accounting and managerial practices which have become seriously more insidious and widespread than imagined in Corporate Governance settings. The research therefore recommends that economic entities, corporations, regulators, govemments, and all stakeholders in the financial reporting process should be more resolute than ever in the engagement and application of forensic accounting skills to daunting Corporate Governance concem

21st Century Business Dynamics: Acting Local and Thinking Global through Extensive Business Reporting Language (XBRL)

In the present dynamic business environment of corporate governance and regulations, financial reporting is an inevitable and extremely significant process for every business enterprise. Several financial elements such as Annual Reports, Quarterly Reports, ad-hoc filing, and other statutory/regulatory reports provide vital information to the investors and regulators, and establish trust and rapport between the internal and external stakeholders of an organization. Investors today are very demanding, and emphasize greatly on authenticity, accuracy, and reliability of financial data. For many companies, the Internet plays a key role in communicating business information, internally to management and externally to stakeholders. Despite high prominence being attached to external reporting, it is disconnected in most companies, who generate their external financial documents manually, resulting in high degree of errors and prolonged cycle times. Chief Executive Officers and Chief Financial Officers are increasingly susceptible to endorsing error-laden reports, late filing of reports, and noncompliance with regulatory acts. There is a lack of common platform to manage the sensitive information – internally and externally – in financial reports. The Internet financial reporting language known as eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) continues to develop in the face of challenges and has now reached the point where much of its promised benefits are available. This paper looks at the emergence of this revolutionary twenty-first century language of digital reporting. It posits that today, the world is on the brink of an Internet revolution that will redefine the ‘business reporting’ paradigm. The new Internet technology, eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL), is already being deployed and used across the world. It finds that XBRL is an eXtensible Markup Language (XML) based information format that places self-describing tags around discrete pieces of business information. Once tags are assigned, it is possible to extract only desired information, rather than having to download or print an entire document. XBRL is platform-independent and it will work on any current or recent-year operating system, or any computer and interface with virtually any software. The paper concludes that corporate stakeholders and the government cannot afford to ignore the XBRL. It therefore recommends that all must act locally and think globally now via the adoption of XBRL that is changing the face of worldwide business reporting

Extensible business reporting language (XBRL): a tool for accounting education in the 21st century

21st century education standards focus on 21st century skills, content knowledge and expertise. Technology advances such as eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) have revolutionized the way information is exchanged and the way business is conducted. These days, speed is of the essence and loss of accuracy, lack of transparency, and difficulty in analysis are increasingly becoming apparent risks. This research exposes XBRL as a phenomenon that represents the future of global accounting education. It discusses the concept and need for XBRL as well as its potential uses and challenges. The research found that there is an ongoing transformation in the way business is conducted and regulated world-wide. The onslaught of the information revolution has profound ramifications for corporate reporting information preparers and users. It therefore recommends that the greater the degree of collaboration between all participants in the financial information supply chain, including government regulators and public sector accountants, the greater the benefits that this information format enables for all participants, educationists, academics, companies, regulators, investors, and government agencies alike

FINANCIAL LITERACY: A PANACEA TO POVERTY REDUCTION IN NIGERIA

There are a number of intelligences that humans’ are expected to possess in order to maximise life on the earth. These intelligences include spiritual, mental, physical, social and financial. Whereas all the different intelligences are important determinants of wellbeing, financial intelligence (FI) is pivotal for individual/family prosperity. Unfortunately, the configuration of Nigeria education curriculum at all levels does not include financial intelligence. This lacuna in the educational system has been reckoned to have contributed to the ever increasing rate of poverty in Nigeria. This paper theoretically discussed financial intelligence as a panacea to winning the war against poverty in Nigeria. The discussion covered an overview of the laws of financial intelligence, personal financial statement, the psychology of wealth creation and sources of passive income as well as the process of financial freedom among others. The paper concludes that if financial intelligence is embraced at the same level with other intelligence, the incidence of poverty in Nigeria will plummet significantly