Adoption of International Public Sector Accounting Standards in Nigeria: Expectations, Benefits and Challenges

Abstract

This study examined the expectations, benefits and challenges of adoption of International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) in Nigeria. The objectives of this study are determining the impact of adoption of IPSAS on the Level of Accountability and Transparency in the Public Sector of Nigeria and to ascertain the contribution of adoption of IPSAS in enhancing comparability and international best practices. Primary source of data was employed to generate the data of interest. The statistical tools employed were the Chi-square test, Kruskal Wallis test and descriptive analysis. From the findings of the study, it was observed that adoption of IPSAS is expected to increase the level of accountability and transparency in public sector of Nigeria. It was found that the adoption of IPSAS will enhance comparability and international best practices. Also, it was denoted that adoption of IPSAS based standards will enable provide more meaningful information for decision makers and improve the quality of the financial reporting system in Nigeria. In addition, it was found that adoption of IPSAS by Nigerian government will improve comparability of financial information reported by public sector entities in Nigeria and around the world. Hence, we conclude that the adoption of IPSAS in Nigeria is expected to impact operating procedures, reporting practices thereby strengthening good governance and relations with the government and the governed.