CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background

1.2 Problem statement

1.3 Research Questions

1.4 Research Hypotheses

1.5 Research Objectives

1.6 Significance of the study

• Significance of the Study

The study is aimed at establishing whether there is any correlation between the accounting information provided by the account department (accountants) and the decision made thereof by the users of the information, most importantly management of SOWEDA, Buea. These groups will benefit from the research namely; The organization under study, business managers, future researchers, and  the researcher personally.

The management of the organization (SOWEDA) will use the research where applicable as a tool for formulating policies for the firm as a standard of evaluating accounting information and control of their accounts department through financial decision.

The work will also go a long way to educate managers on the relevance of sound management information system in decision-making process of their organization and subsequently on its growth.

Also, the work will serve as a source of secondary data to future researchers who intend to carry out further research work on “ the use accounting information  as a tool for managerial decision making” or any related topic. It will also help students in the accounting department to have in-depth knowledge of the practical application of accounting information.

Finally, the research will enable us imbibe thorough knowledge of the uses of accounting information as a tool for management decision making. It will also give foresight on the applicability of accounting information on the Management of the organization under study.

1.6 Scope and Limitations of the Study

1.6.1 Scope of the Study

This study will narrow around the role of accounting information on management decisions. In the light of broad coverage, the research will be focus on the study case of SOWEDA, Buea. The research work will cover certain aspect of accounting systems operational in SOWEDA, Buea and types of reports prepared for decision making. The relationship that exists between accounting information and management decision making will be examined and some related literatures in the field of the study will be reviewed and incorporated. The study will also be limited to the importance of each branch of the NGO (SOWEDA) management information system and the type of information they prepare, usefulness of each of the information prepared by individual segment of the branches of accounting, examples financial accounting section, management accounting section and cost accounting section.

1.6.2 Limitations of the Study

The project is limited by many factors which posed as snags or obstacles to Rural Development Projects or smooth compilation of the work. It is important that users of the work note the limitations in the course of carrying out the work. The significant problems faced include the following;

• The small number of study subjects. Due to the small size of the sample, the use of sophisticated statistical technique to analyze the findings is limited. Also, this small number of study subjects may not be a representation for a larger geographical coverage.
• Another limitation is time constraint. As this is an academic work done within a given time frame, the researcher finds the time to be a limiting factor to the study due to constraints like accessibility of information, confidentiality of information and project processing
• Also, this research work will require so much material and financial sacrifices such as transportation cost to the study area, documentation cost and communication cost. In addition, there are some vital as well as important information which the organization may refuse to disclose for security reasons. Incomplete and lack of availability of records, which will be considered to be very useful, were referred to as confidential.

However, time and financial constraints are the most impactful limitation to the study. Finally, despite all limitations and constraints, the research will contained the necessary relevant resource material and to- date data obtained, analyzed and provided in the work.

1.7 Organization of the Study

This piece of work will start with the preliminary pages which are, the cover page, declaration page, certification page, dedication page, acknowledgement page, table of contents, abstract, list of tables list of abbreviations. The study shall be made up of five chapters. The contents of each chapter shall be organized as follows;

Chapter one comprises of the introduction which dwells on the background of study, problem statement, research questions, objectives, hypothesis, and significance of the study, the methodology, the scope, limitations and organization of the work. Chapter two deals with literature review which comprises of; conceptual framework, theoretical framework and empirical framework and focuses on review of past research work on same topic. Chapter three shall show the various procedures employed to obtain both the primary and secondary data were outlined. These include the background of the study area, design of the research work, the population of the study, sample size and sampling method used in gathering data and the tool to test the classified data. The classification, presentation, evaluation and analysis of data will be done in chapter four. The chapter will also analyze the data obtained through the questionnaire and utilization of interview tips on the hypothesis. The test tool will be applied on the key questions. Finally, chapter five focuses on summary of findings, conclusion from the research findings, and the necessary recommendations based on the research findings. In addition, there will be areas for further studies and references.

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

This section deals with review of past works on similar topic by scholars. It helps drive the work and inspires the research to end. It identifies existing gab and seeks to fill them for case of understanding. It is organized in to; Conceptual issues, Theoretical issues and Empirical issues.

2.1 Conceptual Issues

2.1.1. Accounting Information

In a broader view, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (1970) stated the function of accounting is to provide quantitative information, primarily financial in nature, about economic entities that is needed in making economic decision” (an economic entity is a unit such as a business that has an independent existence). Etuk-Udo (2003) stated that the “modern accountants are concern not only on record keeping but also with a whole range of activities involving planning and problem solving, control and attention, directing and evaluation, review and auditing”. The present day accounting information on the ultimate needs those who use accounting information, whether these users are inside the business itself. Stanford (1978) stated “an information system that measures, processes and communicates financial information allows the users to make reasonable choice among alternative of scarce resources in the conduct of business and economic activities”.