THE USE OF ACCOUNTING INFORMATION SYSTE AS A MANAGEMENT TOOL TO ENHANCE DECISION MAKING. (A CASE STUDY OF NIGERIA AIRSPACE MANAGEMENT AGENCY) (NAMA)

CHAPTER ONE

1.0      INTRODUCTION

Accounting is the presentation of a systematically developed and accurately recorded financial report about an entity engaged in economic activity to the users of such reports. The experts that provide the reports are known as Accountants.

Apart from the provision of reports, the accountants also interpret and analyze reports provided in order to assist those who use the output of the interpretation and analysis for meeting their various needs. When accountants perform the above stated functions, it IS described as practicing accountancy profession. Thus, the entire effort of an accountant is aimed at enhancing decision making m any organization or business environment.

1.1      BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

At each stage of development of man accounting records have been developed according to the needs at that time. The records are so developed and used in enumeration and control of assets, as reporting device for stewardship and the collections, as evidence of trade and for the control of production or the management of business.

From the earliest time, the process of levying and collection of taxes by government called for proper record keeping and report. Such accounting records prepared by Tax collectors served as a basis to reinforce business need for accounting systems and controls.

The development of social life especially the formation of states or sovereignties and levying of taxes necessitated in addition to the knowledge of number, a power of holdings, counting's and recording in this we find the origin of science in accounting.

Early civilization shows that the Babylonian business men recorded their sales and money lending some thousand years ago in day tablets. Egyptians used papyr, to describe the collections before 1000bc.

According to Richards Brown. (yr) the History of Accounting and Accountant Volume 2, he stated that Greek and Romans had well developed record keeping system especially for government purposes. Emperor Augustus was said to have instituted a governmental budget. Inspectors from the central government in Rome were sent out to examine the accounts of provisional governors. The Grecian also have their accounts engraved on stone and exposed in. public specimen, such accounts are among the Elgin marbles in the British Museum. In Great Britain, the earliest systems of accounting of which there is record are those of exchequers of England and Scotland.

The oldest, which has been preserved is the English pipe roll of 1130-1131.

From the above, there are many existing records of early development of accounting not mentioned, it is an evidence to show that so many accounting activities have taken place in the past.

The modern methodology of keeping accounting record began with the introduction of double entry in the thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries. This was the period of rapid expansion of commerce and industry. Among the records based on the double entry system to the book of a French form, the Fremes Bonis of Mortauben, which were kept during the years 1345.

This form the use of books to obtain a review of its position and made up a list of its debtors and creditors. l.C.B Niclcerson reported in his book Accounting Hand Book for Non-Accountants, that book has been preserved from 1297 belonging to Riherio and Baldo Fini in which accounts were opened not only for personal, but for things and two classes were debited and credited vice versa in regular fashion. The book keeping records in this period were in the rudimentary stage without any definite period of balancing.

In some certain situations, the account are not even kept in the monetary unit for example, it was reported that in sleveterly loccite page 309 that firemes Banis opened an account in 19^th December 1345 and records were continued in this account without intermission to the 11^th December 1358, debit and credits were also by no means separated by often place one below the other as they occur.

Finally, there were no attempt to balance and in some cases the accounts were not even kept in the same monetary unit.

The records that brings out complete double entry system in account is the one discovered in Genwa in the year 1340 in accounts of the stewards to the Local authority. The date when this entry actually commenced could not be determined. Another records in Genoa kept on double entry system is that preserved in Venice. These records belong to traders, neither bankers and stewards of Local authorities.

The records of the Merchant of vernice can be described as complete since every debit has a corresponding credit and profit or loss account is even transferred to capital account.

This period was 1416-1440. It was from this venice that the first treatise on the subject was given to the world in 1494 by "Luca Paciolo" who was one of the most celebrated mathematician of his days. The purpose of the work was not in the first place to give instructions in book-keeping, but to summarize the existing knowledge of mathematics. However, he brought an end to the works by coding the treatise of book­keeping.

1.2     STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEMS

A critical examination of the management process shows that management is into business for the purpose of maximization of profit.

This can be achieved when decisions made by managers of the business are channeled towards the following areas.

a.                  Investment decision

b.                 Sources of fund decision

c.                  Dividend policy decision.

The future destiny of an organization is planned and controlled by management. When good decisions are made through the use of accounting information at the end of this research work, the following problems must be critically analyzed.

·             Can good management contrive realistic ways to achieve the company's or business objective without accounting as a basis for management decision making tool?

·             Can management manipulate the controllable variables and plan for the non-controllable variables without accounting as a basis of enhancing decision-making?

·             How proactive are the decisions of management/managers without accounting as a basis for management decision making tool?

·             Can we measure the performance of managers by planning and decision making which determines management competence without taking into consideration the accounting system as a tool to enhance decision making in any organization.

All these will serve as our statement of problem in this research work.

1.3      OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

Accounting information is a tool to enhance decision making in all human endeavors. It plays a key role in management, management function and management processes.