Abstract
This study examines the roles of proper accounting procedures to the survival of these small scale businesses. The methodology adopted was the use of questionnaire designed for eliciting information from the heads of various units or department in the industry/company surveyed. However, the study discovers that there is no proper accounting procedure as a result of the overbearing attitude of the proprietor who is a sole man business cautions.
The various units head do not have the authority they should have to run the company’s finances because the proprietor is involved in both sourcing for and utilization of funds thereby punctuating the necessary procedures for proper accounting. A practice which the research discovers causes high morality rate of small scale business venture in Nigeria. Nevertheless, the study recommends that certified accountant and trained accounting clerks be employed and should be given enough freedom to exercise within the limits of accounting ethics to carryout their duties in all sectors particularly since the company is into the essential commodities that are sold in the common/open market.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
From time in memorial man has consistently improved on the ways transactions are carried out. Particularly, the improvement in the increasingly complexity of daily transactions by man started in the mercantile era, that is, the period of the birth of modern commerce.This period witnessed a boom in merchandising, leading to large volumes of exchange of goods and services between individuals and across various frontiers, this development led to the growth of and formal recording of transaction involving exchange of currency(s).
However the recording transactions in books of accounts known as book keeping in line with double entry principle dates back to the 14th century AD when Italian merchants began to use the double entry system to record their transactions (Igben, 2004).Nevertheless the earliest known double entry records which gave birth to modern financial accounting as noted by Igben (2004) is the account of “stewards of the commune of Genoa” in the year 1340.
The implication of this is that modern accounting practices can be traced to Italian origin as it was called “Italian method”.However, for financial accounting, several definitions exist, it can simply be defined as the process of collecting, recording, presenting and analyzing and interpreting financial information for the users of financial statements (Igben, 2004).As transactions are carried on and they are recorded in statements, which are usually contained in source documents like invoices, bills, debit notes, receipts vouchers, credit note to mention but a few, such are recoded, presented and analyze/interpret for the purpose of transparency, accountability and understanding by the parties involved in the transactions.
Nevertheless, transactions in whatever form are recorded in the books of accounts, ledger and subsidiary books, as credit and debit showing what goes out and what come in the transactions. This allow both the preparer (accountant) and the user of financial statements to keep back of money, the worth of assets and liability of the user of the accounts. It also allows for close monitoring of the profit and loss of any business for which the accounts is prepared.Knowing how a business fairs and be properly informed and make or take necessary steps towards making progress could easily be the desire of every enterprise. Be that as if may all business enterprises strive to maximize profit. To achieve this however there is therefore the need for a proper accounting process/procedure. Lack of proper accounting in an enterprise usually speaks doom for the enterprise many small enterprises are from observation and experience do not employ the service of trained accountant let alone keeping profit account of businesses.
The implication of this is the failure of many businesses enterprises particularly small scale enterprises.It is on this note therefore that this research work sets out to investigate the relevance of keeping proper accounting of business identifying the problem associated with improper accounting procedure and the implication on the growth of small scale business with a view to making proposals for small scale business growth through encouraging them to maintaining regular and keeping of accounts in all transactions no matter the size.