CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Accounting information by definition is about provision of financial information needed to take decision particularly in respect of acquisition and use of scarce corporate resources as well as the elimination of wastes in the wealth creation chain to maximize profit. Agbaje, Busari and Adeoye (2014), stated that information as representing data or knowledge evaluated for specific use. He sees accounting information as “data organized for the special purpose of decision making” Oluwolaju and Ogunsan (2016), “information consists of data that have been retrieved, processed or otherwise used for informative or inference purpose, argument or as a basis for forecasting or decision making”. Agbaje, Busari and Adeoye (2014), Opined that information is not synonymous with data. She stated that information is to data what a finished product is to the raw materials used in producing it. In other words data is information in its raw unprepared forms. She further added that information has become for management, a very valuable commodity. This is because experts in business management have come to agree that in today’s business environment, where competition has become extremely keen, available and effective information can indeed become the critical factor which enables business organization to have that vital edge over its competitors. Agunbiade and Adeboye (2015), further sees information as “a fact, datum, observation, perception or any other thing that adds to knowledge.
Information requirements tend to differ with the organizational level. Since the nature of decision making varies as one move up the organizational pyramid, managers rely on detailed information that is contained in reports. These report usually specified in financial terms often originate from the accounting system. In mobilizing savings and allocating scarce resources between competing ends, commercial banks and other financial institutions occupy a very important position in the Nigerian economy: In contemporary Nigeria, banking is one industry which has witnessed unprecedented upsurge in activities as a result of reforms in the economy by the federal government. At the beginning of the past decade, there were about 89 banks with 3,389 branches located in both rural and urban areas nationwide. These banks were characterized by structural and operational weaknesses such as: Low capital base; Dominance of a few banks; Insolvency and illiquidity; Over dependency on public sector deposits and foreign exchange trading; Weak corporate governance; A system with low depositor confidence; Banks that could not effectively support the real sector of the company at 24% of GDP, compared to Africa average of 78% and 272% for developed countries (Oluwolaju & Ogunsan, 2016).
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