Treasury Single Account in Nigeria as a Tool for Fraud Prevention

Abstract

The study is primarily aimed at determining whether the introduction of Treasury Single Account (TSA) minimizes fraud perpetration in Nigeria with particular reference to federal MDAs in Sokoto. To achieve this, Questionnaires were administered to selected federal MDAs in Sokoto State. A sample of 252 staff was arrived at using Taro Yamane's (1967) sampling formula out of a total population of 4393. Descriptive (Mean and Standard deviation) and Inferential (Correlation and Multiple Regression) were employed to analyze the data collected. The result from the analysis revealed that the introduction of TSA has contributed immensely to minimizing fraud perpetration, blocking revenue leakage leading to consolidation of government cash balances in the country. This was evident from the significant p-value of 0.032 and a positive coefficient of 0.103 in respect of fraud perpetration against the independent variable (TSA). Also revealed was that the control variables (blocking revenue leakage and cash consolidation) alongside the independent variable account for about 42% variation of the dependent variable. In view of the above, the study concluded that TSA undoubtedly mitigates the perpetration of fraudulent activities in the public sector by ensuring accountability and transparency in the management of public finances. Base on the finding it is recommended that there is the need for massive enlightenment by regulatory bodies on the importance of implementing TSA by States and Local government. Also, there is the need for appropriate statutory backing on the implementation of TSA to ensure its effectiveness.