No abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of personal and moral intensity variables on specific processes, namely, ethical recognition, ethical judgment and ethical intention, involved in the ethical decision making (EDM) of accounting professionals. Design/methodology/approach A structured questionnaire containing four vignettes of ethical dilemmas is used in the paper to obtain data from 329 accounting professionals. The data are analyzed using Pearson correlation matrix, independent sample t-test, one-way analyses of variance and multiple regression estimation techniques. Findings The findings of the paper suggest that age, economic status, upbringing, moral idealism and relativism, magnitude of consequence and social consensus are significant determinants of the EDM process of accounting professionals. Practical implications The paper provides evidence to guide accounting regulatory bodies on ways to strengthen extant measures that ensure strict compliance with ethics codes among accounting professionals in Nigeria. Originality/value The paper provides support for Kohlberg’s cognitive reasoning and moral development theory and Rest’s EDM theoretical model, which will aid the development of a structured curriculum for accounting ethics instruction in Nigeria, as hitherto, there is yet to be a provision for a stand-alone ethics course in the undergraduate accounting programs in Nigeria.

No abstract

Persuaded by the pecking order assumptions, where internal fund is preferred over debt and equity when financing investment projects, this study provided empirical evidence on the interaction between working capital management and corporate debt structure, and the effect of this on corporate profitability. The assumption on which the study was based is that, if internal funds become the preferred source of finance for investment projects, then working capital composition is interfered, making both decisions co-dependent. A pool of timeseries and cross-sectional dataset was constructed from the annual audited financial results of 35 manufacturing companies listed on the Nigerian stock exchange for a two-year period (2011 -2012). Panel exploration and Factorial-ANOVA estimation techniques were used to estimate the econometric models developed for the study. The results suggested a significant negative relationship between firm's working capital composition and their debt structure choice. Additionally, on individual basis, the study found a positive significant relationship between debt structure and profitability but no significant relationship between firm's working capital composition and profitability. The results, however, showed that as the firm's working capital composition synchronously interacts with the debt structure, corporate profitability is positively affected. The study therefore recommends that, for firms to optimize profitability and to maintain good liquidity position, corporate financing decision should be considered side by side with their working capital composition.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of ethical ideological orientation (moral idealism and moral relativism), work sector and types of professional membership on the ethical decision-making (EDM) process of professional accountants in Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach The study obtained primary data from 329 professional accountants with the aid of a structured questionnaire containing four scenarios of ethical dilemmas. The data were analysed using descriptive statistical analysis, independent sample t-test, Pearson correlation analysis and multiple regression techniques. Findings The results revealed both idealistic and relativistic moral orientation among the accountants surveyed with a higher mean score (>4.0) recorded for moral idealism. Moral idealism was found to have a positive influence, while moral relativism a negative influence on the three stages (ethical recognition, ethical judgement and ethical intention) of EDM examined. Professional accountants with idealistic orientation showed a higher disposition towards making ethical decisions in situations involving ethical dilemmas than those tending towards relativistic orientation. The results also revealed that work sector (private or public) and types of professional membership play significant roles in predicting the EDM process of professional accountants in Nigeria. Practical implications The study provides empirical evidence that could be used to support educational and legislative efforts in enhancing the moral ideological orientation of professional accountants, which will, in turn, enhance their EDM processes. The findings could be used to enhance ethics instructions and training of current and prospective professional accountants in educational settings, especially in countries such as Nigeria where there is yet to be a discrete ethics course in the curriculum for accounting undergraduate degree programmes. Professional accounting bodies in Nigeria and other developing countries could use the evidence in this study to strengthen the ethics code for professional accountants. Originality/value The study is unique in focussing on professional accountants in developing countries using Nigeria to represent developing countries with high corruption profile and weak institutions and governments and, as such, it contributes to the scarce research output on accounting ethics in developing countries.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to attempt an empirical examination of government budgeting and expenditure processes in Nigeria, a developing country. It examines the current state of budgeting and public funds management (PFM) in Nigeria. It also examines the extent to which the government has used the budgetary mechanism to effectively manage the nation’s economy. Design/methodology/approach The paper employed simple regression estimation technique for data analysis. Time series data set of budgetary information was constructed from different archival sources over a 16-years period (2000-2015), majorly the national Appropriation Acts, press releases, regulatory and governmental reports, reports of Transparency International, World Bank and Central Intelligence Agency. Findings The findings confirm that the nation’s annual budgeting approach is defective and lags in achieving its fiscal objectives. The budget indicates a state of poor accountability and transparency in PFM. Findings also suggest that the level of economic development in Nigeria is not commensurate with the size of government expenditure. Practical implications The paper draws the attention of the government to the need to restructure its approach to budgeting and adopt a more resilient approach that suits its environment and economic peculiarities in effort to ensure efficient management and accountability of public funds. The paper also offers value to other developing countries. It provides empirical evidence that explains an aspect why the African continent remains underdeveloped hitherto. Originality/value This paper lends a voice to the call for a restructuring of the Nigerian budgetary system and its implementation strategy. It advocates for the adoption of an alternative budgeting approach that matches Nigeria economic realities. The paper demonstrated that the traditional budgetary approach being used by many developing countries is limited in certain ways and could hinder sustainable development.

This paper examines the perception of accountants (chartered and non-chartered) of the personal factors influencing auditors' ethical behaviours in Nigeria. Data were obtained from 152 accountants (80 chartered and 72 non-chartered) in Lagos State Nigeria through the use of a well-structured questionnaire. The data collected were analysed using nonparametric tests (Wilcoxon rank-sum test and Mann-Whitney test) to check for differences in the perceptions of chartered and non-chartered accountants of the personal factors influencing auditors' ethical behaviours. The results showed that, except for auditors' age, there is a consensus in the perceptions of both chartered and non-chartered accountants of the personal factors influencing auditors' ethical behaviours. While there were significant divergent views on whether age influences auditors' ethical behaviours, fear of sanction, religion, upbringing, conscience, gender, and personal values were found to be influencers of auditors' ethical behaviours. The study offers value to professional accounting bodies in that it provides empirical explanations to guide the pursuit of sustainable and resilient ethical values among accounting professionals.

Within the context of the Modigliani-Miller relevance theory and the static order theory of capital structure, this paper empirically examined the effect of a firm's capital structure on its market value. Dataset from 39 non-financial listed companies for the period of 2005-2009 were used for analysis. Results from the regression analysis show a significant and positive relationship between non-financial firms' market values and their debt-equity ratios. Whereas, a negative relationship exists between a firm's total-debt/total-capital ratio and its market value, its size positively affects its market value. Hence, we conclude that firms' leverage positively influence their market values. Suggesting that, a firm can actually attain an optimal capital structure.