EFFECTIVE INTERVAL CONTROLS MEASURES AS TOOLS FOR TRANPARENCY, PROBITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY IN THE MANAGEMENT OF PUBLIC RESOURCES (A CASE STUDY OF IGBO ETITI LOCAL GOVERNMENT COUNCIL OF ENUGU STATE)
The study project (Effective internal control measures as tools for probity, transparency, and accountability in the management of public resources) will identify the issues that contribute to waste and mismanagement of public resources in local government (s)
The primary goal of this project is to assess the role of management in overcoming the inadequacy of internal control in achieving intended objectives. The following study approaches will be used: self-administered internal control questionnaires, oral interviews, observation, and a literature review.
Because no project is without limits, the following obstacles will be encountered: budget constraints, a lack of participation by some respondents, and time constraints. Internal check methods should be utilized to organize the enter operations of the office and the duties of the corresponding staff in order to ensure probity and accountability in the local government system.
CONTENTS TABLE
PART ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Research
1.2 Problem identification
1.3 Study Goal
1.4 The Importance of the Research
1.5 Proposal for a theory
1.6 Scope and limitations of the research
1.7 Glossary
1.8 List of References
CHAPITRE TWO
2.0 A review of the associated literature
Internal control definition (2.1)
2.2 Internal audit specific activities
2.3 Types of internal control procedures in the public sector
2.4 Different types of internal control
2.5 A guideline for successful internal control.
2.6 List of References
CHAPITRE THREE
3.0 Methodology and design of the study
3.1 Information source
3.1.1 Original source
3.1.2 Secondary resources
3.2 Population/Determination of sample size and inquiry method.
3.3 List of References
CHAPITRE FOUR
4.0 Presentation, evaluation, and interpretation
4.1 Questionnaire examination
4.2 The hypothesis testing triad proves
CHAPITRE FIVE
5.0 Summary of findings, conclusions, and suggestions
5.1 Research findings summary
5.2 Concluding Remarks
Recommendations are provided in Section 5.3.
Appendix-questionnaire
Bibliography.
CHAPTER ONE
1.1 INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY
The need of good internal control measures as tools for transparency, probity, and accountability in public resource management cannot be overstated. This stems from the notion that in-seniority cannot be violated since the beginning of time. As a result, regulations or laws directing financial management or internal control are required for proper discharge of tasks.
Thus, internal rules and regulations, financial laws, constitutions, criminal codes, the Audit Act of 1958, relevant Acts, treasury circulars, and Audit circulars are steps forward in attempting to govern man’s administration of public resources.
Corruption has gained governmental acknowledgement in Nigeria. The amount of corruption has reached such frightening proportions that Nigeria’s reputation is being tarnished worldwide. This explains why the current government, led by President Olusegun Obasanjo, formed an anti-corruption act.
His stamp on the subject aided in the early development of the anti-corruption bill, which eventually became law after going through the legislative process.
The act to be cited as the Prohibition and Punishment of Bribery, Corruption, and Other Related Offenses Act is intended to curtail all forms of social, economic, and political corruption that have consistently undermined public accountability, transparency, and probity in the management of public resources.
The act will be carried out through an independent corrupt practices and allied offences commission, which will be led and composed of men and women of great integrity and straightforward honesty, who will be nominated by the president and subject to the approval of the National Assembly.
However, history has proven that individuals entrusted with the job of executing or sustaining any state law frequently violate and undermine such laws. This has been referred to as the “Nigerian” factor?
The incorporation of an effective internal control mechanism into public sector management is a vital step in assuring the general public of public officials’ responsibility and transparency as guardians of public resources.
1.2 A STATEMENT OF PROBLEMS
Mismanagement, misappropriation, misapplication, and embezzlement are all identical terms. Mismanagement or misappropriation is the unauthorized, improper, and illegal use of funds or other assets for purposes other than those intended.
To give the impression that fraud, embezzlement, and misapplication of public funds occurred in government due to a lack of internal control, as claimed by the conference of federal and state auditor generals in Nigeria in their preface to “exposure daft” on public sector, internal control standard in May 1998, was uncharitable. Salary vouchers are approved by the internal auditor.
As a result, fraud and mishandling of fraud exist not because of a lack of internal control, but because operators have decided to set aside control for selfish personal gain, regardless of the consequences to a local government or the nation.
The following are concerns that lead to fraud and misuse of funds from local governments:
1. Borrowing funds for capital projects, only to have them squandered by the three wise men-chairman, secretary, and treasurer.
2. Falsification of real receipts of funds from federal accounts and VAT revenues.
3. Questionable security overhead expense.
4. Unlawful overhead spending.
5. Payment of council funds for fake projects
6. Payment from the council money for jobs that were not recounted.
7. Overpricing of direct labor employment contracts by works officers.
8. Misappropriation of local government(S) funds through the collusion of the chairman, secretary, and treasurer.
9. The three wise men inflate the salary bills.
10. Misappropriation of special greats from the federal or state governments or their agencies
The aforementioned factors account for nearly all occurrences of fraud and theft of funds from local governments.
1.3 STUDY AIM
In light of the previously described study and declaration of concerns, this work aims to achieve the following goals: i. Identify the problems and causes of internal control difficulties in local government (s).
ii. To assess the management’s roles in resolving the inadequacy or ineffectiveness of internal control in achieving the local government(s) council’s planned objectives.
1.4 THE IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY.
Internal control is an essential tool in the administration of any company, yet most local governments and ministries have little or no internal control mechanism. With regard to the aforementioned local government, actual losses in the millions of Naira occur every year, which is why a complete research effort in it is required.
As a result, this study will go a long way toward comprehending the effectiveness of internal control in controlling asset safeguarding and generating reliable financial information. Understanding this will undoubtedly indicate the effectiveness and appropriateness of internal controls in local government and agencies.
The findings and conclusions will undoubtedly be useful to individuals involved in policy and decision-making in local governments and organizations.
In conclusion, this study will offer internal control measures for government employees to implement in order to minimize the imminent losses caused by weak internal control in local government (s). This research will also contribute to the existing literature on the efficiency of internal control in local government.
HYPOTHESIS STATEMENT
The following assumptions were made for the sake of this research:
1. Ho: Local governments have an effective internal control measure in place.
Hello: In municipal administrations, there are no effective internal control measures.
2. Ho: Internal control is effective in the separation of functions in local government.
Hello: Internal control is ineffective in the partition of functions in local government.
3. Ho: When performing their duties, government personnel use existing internal control mechanisms.
Hello: In the performance of their tasks, government personnel do not use existing internal control mechanisms.
4. Ho: Government officials hire skilled people to work in various government offices.
Hello: Government officials do not hire competent people to work in various government offices.
TERMS ARE DEFINED IN STEP 1.5
1. TRANSPARENCY: This suggests that the custodian of public wealth should always acknowledge their responsibilities to submit to public inquiry and scrutiny of their stewardship at any moment willing and ready to come before the public enquiry and examination.
2. ACCOUNABILITY: The obligation of an employee, agent, or other person to provide a satisfactory report, often on a regular basis, of action or failure to act in accordance with given power.
3. PROBIT: Probity denotes character uprightness or that an officer is of great integrity.
4. FRAUD: The successful use of deception with the goal of defrauding or injuring another.
5. STAFF COLLUSION: A covert agreement between two or more employees to take advantage of another with the intent of depriving him of a right or property.
6. EMBEZZLEMENT: The dishonest appropriation of lawfully in one’s custody property, such as cash or security try a cashier or trusted or of stores by a stock clerk.
7. ETHICS: Ethics, or ethical behavior within a profession, is a specific application of ideal behavior.
8. ANTI-CORRUPTION BILL: This is a proposed law developed by the executive and submitted to the legislative for approval. Its passage is aimed to end corruption in Nigeria.
9. CORRUPTION: The transformation of a sound into a putrid state, dishonesty, open to bribery, not real, and full of faults.
10. FINANCIAL MEMORANDA: This is a document that contains a codified set of rules and regulations that provide detailed guidelines and instructions on the financial accounting and store procedures that must be followed in the administration of each local government’s financial affairs and material management.
11. FINANCIAL INSTRUCTIONS: Financial instructions are laws and regulations that are compiled in a book called financial regulations. The book explains how government finance and accounting systems are governed.
12. APPROPRIATION ACT: This is an act of the National or State Assemblies that specifies the sources of government revenue and how these resources will be spent over a specific time period, usually one year.
13. SEGREGATION OF Tasks: This refers to the separation of duties or functions between departments and persons so that no one person handles a specific transaction from start to finish.
14. INTERNAL CHECK: It is described in the auditing standard statement as the distribution of authority and work in such a way as to afford checks on the routine transactions of day-to-day work by proving the work of one person independently by another.
15. INTERNAL CONTROL: It refers to the entire system of financial and other controls established by management in order to carry on the enterprise’s business in an orderly and efficient manner, ensure adherence to management policies, safeguard its assets, and ensure the accuracy and reliability of its records to the greatest extent possible.
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EFFECTIVE INTERVAL CONTROLS MEASURES AS TOOLS FOR TRANPARENCY, PROBITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY IN THE MANAGEMENT OF PUBLIC RESOURCES (A CASE STUDY OF IGBO ETITI LOCAL GOVERNMENT COUNCIL OF ENUGU STATE)
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