CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Accounting is a noble profession. It is discipline profession. You must be disciplined from day one as professional accountant and the discipline starts from up dating one knowledge by going into studies come rain or sunshine. The word probity and accountability are regarded as watch words of accountant. The history of accounting is not complete without mentioning the name of an Italian Monk and mathematician LUCCA PACIOLO.
As early as 5000 BC in the Babylon empire, clay tablets were used to records facts. These ways of keeping records, crude, were means of gathering and processing facts and preserving information and they served their intended purposes.
In 1494, the system of accounting which had evolved among the merchants of Italy was formulated in a book written by an Italian monk, Luca Paciolo. This method, described as the “Italian method” was a simple one although it was possible that more sophisticated systems than outlined by Paciolo existed in larger firms and manufacturers of the time.
In 1491, in venice, Reverend father, Luca Paciolo described the double entry system by giving insight into the reasoning behind accounting records. The postulated that all the entries must have double entry, one a debtor and the other one a creditor during the period, the records were prepared to show statement for the business rather than the owner.
After Paciolo, a Dutchman advocated the profit and loss account at yearly interval. The level of civilization and technological advancement helped in the development of modern methods of accounting. Since the discovery of double entry principle, there has been tremendous development in accounting theories and methods. The introduction of micro and mini computers have brought enhanced performance but the fundamental principles remain unchanged.
In 1982, the Nigerian Accounting Standards Board (NASB) was formed to set accounting standards that would guide the operations of accounting activities in Nigeria. membership of the NASB include the following:
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Federal Ministry of Finance (FMF) Nigerian Accounting Teachers Association (NATA) Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) The Institute of Chartered Accountant of Nigeria (ICAN) Federal Board of Inland Revenue (FBIR) Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) etc
Accounting as a discipline and noble profession that command respect from all other discipline has gained social recognition and also exhibited versatility, boldness and sensitivity to environment in all its ramification with an all-round competence and readiness to handle issues and challenges thrown forth.
The aforementioned listed above are known as professional bodies. Now in Nigeria, there are two recognized bodies namely, Institute of chartered accountant of Nigeria (ICAN) and Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN).
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
The accountancy professional over the years have been seen by the public mainly from perspective of the work of an auditor who comes to audit after the year and all they see is just a one page report to shareholder.
Another problem is any mistakes made by an accountants is known to be fraud. More so, the fate of the young up coming accountants in Nigeria in the face off between the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN) and institute of chartered accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) embolic and the possible effects on the profession is another thing that needs to be checked.
Another problem is the conflict of goal with reflect in both private and public sectors of the economy. The private sectors are organization own by individual where arms and objective are the provision of goods and services for profit maximization.
