A Term Paper on

THE RELEVANCE OF ACCOUNTING INFORMATION TO INVESTMENT

DECISIONS IN NIGERIA

For partial fulfilment of the requirements of the course GNS 301

Instructor: Mr Adediran

Submitted by
name
matric

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THE RELEVANCE OF ACCOUNTING INFORMATION TO INVESTMENT
DECISIONS IN NIGERIA

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ABSTRACT

This research paper investigates the relevance of accounting information to investment decisions
in Nigeria. The paper became imperative in the light of some studies that explored the proposition
that accounting information in published financial statements lost its relevance over the period of
time, as well as the instances of presentation of financial information by some corporate bodies as
regards their net worth and existence which is a far cry from the true picture of their actual
financial position (of not being credit worthy, for instance). These kinds of happening have
provoked thoughts and opinions from the intellectual world over the role of ethics and reliability
of accounting information as a decision background for investment purposes. It is as a fallout of
this background that this research is carried out. The methodology adopted is descriptive using a
qualitative method i.e. purposive sampling method in getting responses to carefully framed
questionnaires on the subject matter. In total, two hundred and fifty (250) respondents were
sampled through purposive sampling method and two hundred (200) questionnaires were
collected back, thus achieving a response rate of eighty percent (80%). Findings from responses
received revealed accounting information as relevant and essential for investment decision-
making.

The afore-mentioned measures are anticipated to increase investors’ confidence in accounting

numbers and by extension the economic growth in Nigeria.

It was therefore recommended that there is need for a more ethical re-orientation of members of
the industry in their ethical responsibility to the public and increase in punitive measures as well
as solid policy framework readjustment for the industry.

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PAPER CONTENTS:
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
DETAILED CONTENTS
CONCLUSION
Reference

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 CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY.

Listed companies in Nigeria use financial statements as one of the major medium of
communication with their stakeholders. Therefore, stock market regulators and accounting
standards setters are trying to improve the quality of financial statements in order to increase the
transparency level in financial reporting. (Vishnani S., Shah B.K., 2008). Financial Statements
may consist different types of information which can be named as Financial
Information/Accounting Information and Non Financial Information/Non Accounting
Information. Accounting Information are information which describes an account for a utility. It
processes financial transactions to provide external reporting to outside parties such as to
stockholders, investors, creditors, and government agencies etc. and non accounting information
are information which cannot be measured in monetary terms to make investment decisions by
the investors. This type of investment is called as ethical investment.
Financial information is essential in making sound investment decisions and it will reduce the
informational asymmetry problem between the firm’s managers and the investors (Hossain, D.
M., Khan, A., Yasmin, I. 2004). Though the investors use non financial information in order to
make investment decisions, still conventional investors give more weight to financial
information. Akintoye (2008) discovered that the quality of accounting information in terms of its
accuracy, adequacy, reliability and mode of disclosure is a major determinant of the level of
efficiency of the capital market and other decision tasks.

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1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
The mobilization and allocation of both domestic and foreign savings are critical in the national
growth process (Aregbeyen, 2011). It is therefore, obvious that the investment markets have a
significant role to play in economic development. Growth occurs when savings are channeled
into productive investments which in turn enhance the capacity of the economy to produce goods
and services which have bearing on standard of living. Alile (2007) indicates that the capital
market which is the main investment market for listed companies publishing financial or
accounting information play a crucial role in stimulating industrial growth as well as economic
growth and development.

This means that a capital market will succeed in facilitating economic growth and development if
it can encourage the flow of savings / investment through the purchase of securities issued by
government or private enterprise and others with the aim of financing the implementation of
capital projects.

1.3 AIMS AND OBJECIVES OF THE STUDY

The aim of the research is to investigate the relevance of accounting information to investment
decisions in Nigeria.

OBJECTIVES
The aim of the research is intended to be achieved through the following objectives:
 Examine the current state of accounting information as an aid to investment
decisions in Nigeria
 Examine if accounting information in Nigeria meet regulatory criteria and standards.
 Examine the contribution of accounting information to investors decision among
other factors

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 CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 GENERAL REVIEW OF LITERATURE

According to Meyer (2007) accounting plays a significant role within the concept of
generating and communicating wealth of companies. Financial statements remain the most
important source of externally feasible information on companies. In spite of their widespread use
and continuing advance, there is some concern that accounting practice has not kept faith with
ethics and pace with rapid economic and high technology changes which in invariably affects the
value relevance of accounting information.

Before the nature of Accounting can be addressed, this field of study must first be
delineated. This entails an identification of the area of interest and of the borders of the discipline
in relation to neighbouring disciplines or mediating concepts. Thus a successful definition of
Accounting should clearly delineate the boundaries of the discipline at a point in time, give a
precise statement of its essential nature, and be flexible so that innovation and growth in the
discipline can be accommodated.

A number of definitions of Accounting have appeared in the literature, each attempting to

demarcate its field of study. Developing a single definition of Accounting is however beset with
difficulties. The first difficulty stems from the dynamic nature of Accounting. Glautier and
Underdown (1986) point out that the changing environment continually extends the boundaries of
Accounting, which makes defining the scope of the subject problematical. A second difficulty,
which stems from the first, is the question of boundaries.

Accounting can be described as being simultaneously eclectic and pervasive, consequently

definitions of Accounting tend to have fuzzy and changing boundaries (Glautier and Underdown
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(1986). A third difficulty stems from the often debated question of whether Accounting is an art
or science. According to the AICPA (1953) Accounting is an art.
The Committee on Terminology of the AICPA (1953, par.5) defined Accounting as follows:
“Accounting is the art of recording, classifying and summarising in a significant manner and in
terms of money, transactions and events which are, in part at least, of a financial character and
interpreting the results thereof.”

An example of definitions in accounting textbooks is supplied by Kieso and Weygaardt (1992)

who identify the three essential aspects of Accounting as - the identification, measurement and
communication of financial information on economic entities to interested parties, being the users
of financial information. This definition does not take into consideration the use of such
information to users, and limits the information to financial data. A more comprehensive
definition of Accounting is provided by Ansari, Bell, Klammer & Lawrence (1997) who state that
it consists of four key ideas:
• It is by nature a measurement process;
• Its scope includes financial and operational information;
• Its purpose is to assist the organisation in reaching its strategic objectives;
and
• Its attributes are to enhance the understanding of the measured phenomena, and provide
information for decision making, and therefore encourages actions and supports and creates
shared values, beliefs and mind sets.
This definition has a number of strengths. It identifies that accounting information should include
both financial and operational information. It stresses the increasing importance of supporting
strategic decision making in the organisation as a result of a volatile and competitive business
environment. It views Accounting as more than the technique of processing and measuring data.
Behavioural and social responsibility aspects are recognised in the definition as attributes. This
view is, however, restricted as it defines Accounting from a Management Accounting perspective
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and overlooks the financial reporting aspects. Another limitation is that it does not state
specifically that in Accounting change and continuous improvement are measured, although it is
implied. By facilitating change, the implication is that
accounting information should include aspects such as flexibility and companies’ ability to adapt
to change.
The construct of flexibility does not appear in any of the definitions on Accounting, because the
definitions were developed during stable periods. The environment however has changed –
uncertainty has increased and predictability has declined. In view of the fact that flexibility is a
function of uncertainty, greater value will be attached to flexibility in organisations as uncertainty
escalates. It is therefore appropriate to include the construct of flexibility in the definition
especially during periods of uncertainty.

Although the term flexibility has appeared in the accounting literature if not in the definitions on
Accounting, it is often referred to in a negative context. Flexibility in Accounting is viewed by
some authors in a negative light. Wolk, Francis & Tearney (1984) for example, define flexibility
as the choice between different accounting policies. The aim of Accounting is to reduce the
number of acceptable accounting policies so that a transaction is treated consistently by different
reporting entities. This implies in turn, that “flexibility” should be eliminated, too. This endless
pursuit of consistency and to a lesser extent comparability, contributes to the inflexibility of
Accounting and to the negative perceptions of flexibility in the accounting community.

From a functionalist perspective, Accounting is viewed not as an end in itself, but rather as a
commodity or language that is useful in decision making. This implies as mentioned before, that
the continued existence of Accounting is dependent on its usefulness to society, and in a narrower
context, its usefulness to the users of accounting information (see Puxty, 1993). Several of the
above definitions are in line with a functionalist approach in that they emphasise the need to
provide information useful in the decision-making process of users. These users of financial
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information can be divided into two main categories, namely internal and external users. Internal
users of information include management and employees who require information for
strategic, operational and administrative decisions. This type of information is
communicated in internal and management reports and is the domain of Management
Accounting. External users include investors, lenders, suppliers,
customers, government and the public who require information for various purposes. Information
to external users is communicated by means of the annual and special purpose financial reports
and is the domain of Financial Accounting.

FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING AND MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING

The apparently divergent needs of internal and external users of accounting
information have resulted in the development of two subdisciplines within the discipline, namely
Management Accounting and Financial Accounting. Drury (1996) states that Management
Accounting is concerned with the provision of information to people within the organisation to
help them make better decisions, whereas Financial Accounting is concerned with the provision
of information to stakeholders outside the organisation.

The divergent development of Management Accounting and Financial Accounting has resulted
in, effectively, two information systems within organisations. Johnson and Kaplan (1991) suggest
that Management Accounting has developed faster in recent times than Financial Accounting.
They argue that in the past, Financial Accounting was the foremost factor that inhibited
development in Management Accounting. Once the legislative and standardised approach
ascribed to in Financial Accounting was abandoned, Management Accounting became more
flexible and management and accountants more willing to experiment in meeting the demands of
management. As a result management has come to view financial statements as a costly but
necessary exercise in order to comply with legislation and GAAP. The information contained in
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the financial statements is rarely useful to management and often far removed from the
information needed to run the business.
The external users receive information in the financial reports which is not necessarily relevant
for assessing the particular business and the performance of management. Thus it is not
surprising that recommendations of the Jenkins Report (AICPA, 1994a, p.5) included the
following on external business reporting:

• External business reporting must provide more information with forward-

looking perspective, including with regard to management’s plans;
• It should focus more on the factors that create long-term value and on non-financial
measures which indicate how sectors of the business are performing; and
• It must provide greater alignment between the information reported externally and the
information reported to senior management.
The independent development of Financial Accounting and Management Accounting has
widened the gap between information needed by management and the information reported to
other users and is inefficient and costly in a competitive environment. As has already been
mentioned, the effective use of technology can be used to develop one flexible information
system in an enterprise that meets the different needs of both internal and external users. The
Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (1998) made proposals on how one accounting
information system, by means of a set of corporate reports coupled with computer technology,
could satisfy the needs of both internal and external users of information. For the purpose of this
paper, the assumption is made that there is only one accounting information system and only one
discipline, namely Accounting, which encompasses the fields of study of Financial Accounting as
well as Management Accounting.
CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY

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This section presents the methods and procedures for this study. The chapter will be discussed
under the following sub-headings:
1. Research design
2. Population
3. Sample and sampling technique
4. Research instruments
5. Pilot study
6. Validity and reliability of instrument
7. Method of data collection
8. Method of data analysis

3.1 Research Design

The descriptive research design will be adopted for this research study. Gay (1976) asserted that
the design is appropriate for collection of data from members of a community or target
population with respect to one or more variables. Osuala (2000) observed that the design permits
the description of situations as they exist at a particular point in time.

3.2 Population
The population for this study will comprise all individuals within the Lagos metropolis found to
have the requisite education and investment knowledge and made interactions with Lagos State.

3.3 Sample and Sampling Technique

The sample will comprise of 250 participants selected using purposive sampling method from the
residents of Lagos metropolis. Since purposive sampling method is intended efforts will be made
to sample the relevant individuals with required educational background and various dealings
with the Nigerian Stock exchange.

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3.4 COLLECTION OF DATA
The source of data of this study is through the primary source which involves a field survey
of the involved respondents within Lagos metropolis obtained through purposive sampling
method.
After ascertain the readiness of the respondents, a questionnaire was issued and this totaled
250 and retrieval was right there and then. This is to allow questions to be asked in areas
that looked confusing. Collected questionnaires are checked for missing items and
inappropriate responses. The responses were coded appropriately in coding sheets before
analysis.
Secondary data will also be used where applicable. This will be sourced from textbooks, internet,
journals, magazines and past researches as deem fit.

3.5 RESEARCH INSTRUMENTS, STATISTICAL TOOLS AND ANALYTICAL

PROCEDURE
The research instrument will comprise of a self developed, structured, and validated
questionnaire of five point Likert attitudinal scale of (1) Strongly Agree, (2) Agree and (3)
Undecided, (4) Disagree and (5) Strongly Disagree. The instrument consist of two sections;
Section A measuring respondents social-economic characteristics and section B measuring the
relevant questions (items) designed for the research. There were administered and retrieved back.

STATISTICAL TOOLS AND ANALYTICAL PROCEDURE

The analysis of data involved the use of descriptive analytical techniques i.e Frequency
distributions and percentages, measures of central tendency, mean particularly will also be
used. Results would be fully interpreted.
Inferential statistics was also used in the tests of hypothesis carried out using Chi-Square tests
at 0.05 level of significance. This was carried out using the Statistical Package for Social
Scientist (SPSS Version 17)
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The test statistics for chi-square is given by.
X2 =  (oi-ei)2
ei
Where X2 = Chi-Square Value
oi = Observed Frequency
ei = Expected Frequency
 = Summation symbol
Hypothesis decision rule was based on returned p-value < 0.05, null hypothesis was rejected and
alternative hypothesis accepted and vice versa.

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SECTION 4: PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA
4.0 INTRODUCTION
This section presents the analysis of data and its interpretation. The aim of the research is to study
“the relevance of accounting information to investment decision s in Nigeria”. A total of 250
questionnaires were administered to different respondents scattered through Lagos metropolis
using the purposive sampling techniques. A total of two hundred (200) were returned, thus a
response rate of 80.0% was achieved.
The chapter is sectional, comprising sections A, B and C. Frequency distribution tables using
simple percentages were used in sections A and B. Section A contains responses from
respondents relating to their socio-economic characteristics while Section B presents respondents
opinions and perceptions on the relevance of accounting information to investment decisions in
Nigeria . The last section (C) tests the stated hypothesis and establishes the relationship between
these variables. Three (3) tests of hypothesis were conducted using Chi-Square analysis carried
out at a 0.05 levels of significance. The analysis was carried out with the use of the SPSS
program version 17.

SECTION A: FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION TABLES

Table 1: Showing employee (respondents) socio-economic characteristics
Percentage
Frequency (%)
Sex of Respondents Male 143 71.50%
Female 57 28.50%
Total 200 100.00%
Age of Respondents Below 30 years 20 10.00%
Between 30 and 40 years 106 53.00%
40 years and above 74 37.00%
Total 200 100.00%

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Educational qualification of First School leaving
Respondents Certificate 43 21.50%
WAEC ‘O’ Level
Certificate 38 19.00%
OND / Diploma 54 27.00%
B.Sc / HND 61 30.50%
Others 4 2.00%
Total 200 100.00%
Marital Status Single 103 51.76%
Married 96 48.24%
Total 199 100.00%
Organizational Status of Top management 12 6.00%
Respondents Middle management 85 42.50%
First-line management 103 51.50%
Total 200 100.00%
Religion of Respondents Christian 75 37.50%
Islam 96 48.00%
Others 29 14.50%
Total 200 100.00%
Income Level of Respondents Below 15,000 68 37.57%
Between 15,000 - 50,000 71 39.23%
50,000 and above 42 21.32%
Total 181 100.00%
Source: Survey Research, 2012

The demographic statistics of respondents profiled in Table 1 above shows a cross section of the
sex, age, educational qualification, and number of years in organization, position in organization,
company’s business type and department of respondents interviewed in this study.

By the sex characteristics, One hundred and forty three (143) or 71.5% of the total respondents

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were males while fifty-seven (57) or 28.5% of the respondents were females. A profile of the age
characteristics shows that respondents below 30 years age are twenty (20) and constitute 10.0%
of total respondents. Within the 30 – 40 years age category are One hundred and six (106)
respondents or 53.0% of total respondents. Seventy-four (74) or 37.0% of respondents are seen to
be in the above 40 years age category.

SECTION B: FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION TABLES

Table 2: Opinion of Respondents Concerning the Relevance of Accounting Information to
Investment Decisions in Nigeria.
SA A U D SD Tot %
(5) (4) (3 (2) (1) al Agre
) emen
t
8. I am aware of accounting information
been reported by listed companies as 72 81 3 20 23 199 77%
relevant to investment decisions
9. The current state of companies financial
reporting and accounting information is 31 42 6 53 68 200 37%
professional and satisfactory
10. Corporate accounting information
follow regulatory standards and manners
41 57 11 40 45 194 51%
of presentation such as laid down by
CBN and other regulatory bodies
11 Accounting information is a true
indication and reflection of the financial 26 38 20 52 64 200 32%
and market status of the listed company
12. Accounting information guides majorly 20 16 31 88 45 200 18%
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 most of your investment in the stock
exchange.
13 I place heavy reliance of accounting and
financial information published by listed
17 41 23 63 56 200 29%
companies before taking any investment
decision.
14. Lack of professionals and structures
have been affecting Nigerian corporate 31 36 0 63 68 198 34%
organizations financial reporting
15 Issues of ethical conduct and criminal
conduct has been the bane of transparent 51 118 4 16 10 199 85%
financial reporting
16. The state of financial reporting among
listed companies has divested
56 64 5 31 44 200 60%
investments to other sectors of the
economy.
17. The investing public is ignorant of this
corporate ill and thus patronage is still 17 34 14 81 54 200 26%
significant
18. The general public perceives this
corporate behavoir has normal for 19 32 17 49 81 198 26%
survival
19. The regulatory bodies are performing to
ensuring a safer and healthy accounting
51 59 11 42 37 200 55%
information reporting for investors and
the public in general
20. The rate of investment in Nigeria can be 43 62 9 45 41 200 53%
said to be negatively affected by the

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 state of accounting information
published by listed companies.
Source: Survey research 2012

SECTION 6: SUMMARY / CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

6.1 SUMMARY/ CONCLUSION
The state of accounting information in present day Nigeria under these prevailing conditions is
generally poor, though they follow regulatory standards as cited by regulatory bodies such as
CBN. This accounting information in most cases is not a true reflection of the state of the
corporate bodies they represent as such individuals do not rely on these information for their
investment decisions.

6.2 RECOMMENDATIONS
There is need to increase the ethical knowledge, discipline and its practice into the profession of
accounting most especially as it concerns the public through consistent and practical education

There is need for punitive measures where unethical practices such as poor accounting
information or presentation are made to the public.

There is need to give public access to other corporate information in order to minimize these
corporate fraud.

There is need for a stringent policy readjustment to regulating the affairs of these corporate
bodies in accounting presentation.

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There is also need for whistle blowing philosophy by the public when these issues are noticed.

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