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

Abstract

This study focused on accounting and managerial skills: factors for success of SMEs in NorthWest 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 NorthWest 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 NorthWest 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 NorthWest 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.