PUBLIC SECTOR ACCOUNTABILITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY MANAGEMENT IN NIGERIA
The end-product of good governance whether in corporate or governmental organizations is accountability. In the public sector, information produced by the government in terms of quality financial reports is an essential ingredient for government itself to make better informed fiscal decisions and understand its financial position. It also serves as a mechanism for auditors, legislatures and the public at large to demand accountability from public holders and appraise their performance. However, in Nigeria. Regular reoccurrence of social vices and economic inconsistencies like poverty, infrastructure decay, unemployment, and fraudulent practices despite the existence of plethora of institutional and statutory frameworks to combat them is worrisome. In this paper, an attempt is made to establish whether there is a working relationship between public sector accounting and accountability. Based on empirical academic and institutional literature, the prospect of public sector accounting and reporting prompting public accountability is bleak in Nigeria. Specially, all the indicators of public finance management performance are found to perform below basic level of performance in the country based on the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria Accountability Index. Although Nigeria needs to institute a lot of reforms, accountability index should be set for each accounting unit for ease of public officials and chief accounting officer’s evaluation.
