Perception of Stakeholders on the Implementation of Accrual Basis IPSAS Financial Reporting in Southwestern Nigeria

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume III, Issue VII, July 2019 | ISSN 2454–6186

Perception of Stakeholders on the Implementation of Accrual Basis IPSAS Financial Reporting in Southwestern Nigeria

Dr. D.G. Adebisi¹, Dr. T.G. Oyewole², O. Wright^3*

^{1, 2, 3}Accounting Department, Bowen University, Iwo, Osun State, Nigeria.
^*Corresponding Author: O. Wright

Abstract:- International Public Sector Accounting Standard (IPSAS) is gradually being implemented in the public sector of the Nigerian economy. This is to cater for the need to achieve transparency, uniformity, consistency and comparability in the preparation of financial statements by the public sector entities in Nigeria, as it is the case around the world. This study assesses the perception of stakeholders (Accountants, Auditors and Chief Executive Officers) in Government Ministries, Departments, Agencies and Public Educational Institutions on whether or not the implementation of IPSAS has achieved its desired objectives in Southwestern Nigeria. The specific objectives of the study are therefore to: categorize the perceptions of the stakeholders on the implementation exercise, identify the possible challenges yet to be addressed and draw up an inference on the extent to which implementation had been achieved.
In order to achieve the objectives stated above, the survey method was adopted using questionnaire, interviews and focus group discussions. 150 respondents were purposively selected from stakeholder groups consisting of: Accountants, Auditors and Chief Executive Officers from government Ministries, Departments, Agencies and public Educational institutions for the administration of the questionnaire. 118 valid copies of the questionnaire were retrieved for which both descriptive and inferential statistics were employed to analyze using Statistical Product for Scientific Solution (SPSS), version 22.From the study, it was found out that the level of implementation achieved was still below 40%and the following challenges were yet to be addressed: low level of awareness, inadequate training, high cost of training and re-training, poor record keeping, apathy on the part of implementers, low motivation of staff, inadequate supervision and high risk of irrelevance of current practitioners due to the fact that implementation of IPSAS is IT-based.The study concludes that implementation of IPSAS in Southwestern Nigeria was still below expectation in government Ministries, Departments, Agencies and public Educational institutions as far as preparation and presentation of was concerned. Substantial conscious efforts were therefore needed to spur the stakeholders into action to ensure that the objectives of Accrual basis IPSAS Financial Reporting achieved in southwestern Nigeria.

Keywords: Accrual Basis IPSAS, financial statements, transparency, uniformity, consistency, comparability, stakeholders, MDAs, PEIs

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