CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.0 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
The essence of public accountability in the present dispensation demands a great attention of which the promptitude of producing accurate and comprehensive financial statement cannot be dispensed with. Government accounting system particularly those found in ministries have been designed primarily to achieve accountability and control, for instance, to ensure that expenditure conforms with authorization and that financial transactions are conducted in accordance with established rules, such arrangement satisfy some of the basic control needs of the executives and the legislature, but they do not themselves guarantee efficient operation. In 1988, the civil service reform was undertaken to bring about standard result by putting life into professionalism of the service such government undertaking are normally concerned with how, efficient a local government makes use of its available means in pursuit of its innumerable ends.
Obviously, the aim of creating local government is to make sure that grass root development (villages) are properly taking care o with their available financial and material and support from federal. The objective of the 1976 reforms was to create a local government system with complete and self-contained budget that would be effective and effectual. Before the reforms, Nigeria local government councils from their inception had suffered serious problem of improper accounting and internal control system (Wawhoop, 1979 : 16). One of the commonest methods of measuring performance and result in organization is accounting system. If local government account is not properly checked through internal control, grass root development will be hindered. This is because it provides information to the management to enhance proper administration. The America Association of Accountants, defines accounting as the process of identifying, measuring and communicating of economic information to permit information judgment and decision by users of the information the American Institute of Certified Public Association (AICPA) (1961), defines accounting as the art of recording, classifying and summarizing in a significant manner and in terms of money, transaction and events which are in part at least of a financial character, and interpreting the result thereto. The author of the project defines accounting as the art of recording, classifying and summarizing, analyzing, interpreting and reporting on financial transactions and position of an organization to the interested persons or bodies.
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