Accounting and Managerial Skills: Factors for Success of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) in North-West Nigeria

Sulayman Dauda Gidado,Aminu Babakura

doi:10.6007/ijarbss/v9-i5/5876

Abstract

This study focused on accounting and managerial skills: factors for success of SMEs in North-West Nigeria. The study had two research objectives, research questions and null hypotheses respectively. The survey research design was adopted for the study; the population was made up of 609 respondents which consisted of selected 208 SMEs owners and their 401 employees in North-West Nigeria. The entire population was considered for the study because the researchers had two research assistants in each of the seven States that make up the North-West Geo-Political Zone. A 17-items self-designed questionnaire was used for the data collection. Mean and percentage scores were used in analysing the data collected for answering the research questions using a benchmark mean of 2.50 and percentage score of 55 % for agreed responses. The null hypotheses were also tested using Chi-square at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study revealed that accounting and managerial skills have significant relationships with the success of SMEs in North-West Nigeria. The study concluded that effective and efficient application of both accounting and managerial skills could make SMEs to perform very well and last long. On a final note, the study suggested that there should be proper application of accounting and managerial skills by SMEs owners; they should engage the services of professionals if they are not skillful in accounting and management and there should be capacity development programme whose aim is to equip the SMEs owners and their staff with accounting and managerial skills.

Highlights

Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) are attracting the attentions of individuals, governments and Non-Governmental organisations all over the world
This study conforms to the findings of Akande (2011) which revealed that the possession of accounting skill by an entrepreneur will significantly improve the performance of a small business, Rahamon and Adejare (2014) which found out that there is strong positive relationship between accounting records and performance of small scale businesses and Mutua (2015) whose findings showed that Book-keeping impacts on growth of SMEs
The study is in line with the findings of Agbim (2013) which found out that the entrepreneurial success was related to skills for planning and budgeting as well as management expertise skills for attracting and keeping competent employees, Olowu and Aliyu (2015) which revealed that managerial skills have significant impact on small scale businesses’ performance because managerial skills in the areas of establishing goals, allocating resources, managing conflict, communication, measuring performance, taking action and self-control are major predictors of SMEs’ performance in sales growth and profit and Ikupolati, Adeyeye, Oni, Olatunle and Obafunmi (2017) which showed that conceptual and technical skills of entrepreneurs which form the basis of managerial skills contribute to the growth of SMEs in Nigeria

Summary

Introduction

Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) are attracting the attentions of individuals, governments and Non-Governmental organisations all over the world. Aruwa in Gidado and Akaeze (2014) stresses that managerial incompetence is one of the problems confronting entrepreneurship in Nigeria To cap it all, Onyechinyere and Amasike (2017) point out that lack of management skills, poor record keeping and the adoption of accounting that lacks standard which lead to improper assessment of the performance of SMEs lead to their downfall. Management on the other hand, focuses on effective and efficient allocation and utilisation of business resources which are scarce relative to the needs and wants of the organisation through planning, organising, directing and controlling This shows that managerial skills could make an enterprise to make sound plans and decisions, get the right people to discharge the right task(s) as well as embarking on effective supervision in order to take the business to greater heights. The findings could serve as reference points to entrepreneurs, governments, teachers, students and consultants anywhere across the globe

Objectives

Methods

Findings

Discussion

Conclusion