The Role Of Accountant In Small Scale Business

The purpose of any businessman going into the production of goods and services is to make profit. In other to achieve this ultimate goal therefore, he must be able to put in place qualified financial experts to handle the financial aspect of the organization, besides employing good managers to mange the resources of the organization efficiently and effectively.

The task of managing the financial resources of any business, so that profit can be maximized is that of an accountant.

An accountant therefore is seen as a person whose profession is to keep or check financial accounts. It is also referred to as a qualified financial experts who uses different accounting techniques and tactics in the ascertainment and reduction of cost vis-à-vis maximization of profit in many business organization. For the purpose of this study, we shall restrict ourselves to the role of these financial experts in the small scale business world.

The Nigerian bank for commerce and industries has defined small scale business as those firms or companies with assets (including working capital but excluding land) not exceeding N750,000 and paid employment up to fifty (50) persons.

To be able to accommodate our study in this research work, manufacturing units exceeding the limit of investment and employment as stated above may still be considered as, small scale business output, is relatively small compared to prevalent sizes of plants and the technology is fairly labour intensive .

Accounting is an interesting field of study that have permeated all aspect of human endeavour . This is because as a social process it entails responsibilities for an effective planning and regulations of operation of an enterprise in fulfilment of a given purpose of task. Such responsibilities involves

Accounting as stated by Igben is the process of collecting, recording, presenting information and analyzing or interpreting financial information for the uses of financial statement. It involves collecting, recording, evaluation and communication of economic events qualified in monetary terms. Its basic roles facilitate control processes in management activities so as to provide means for making intelligent business decisions. 

Management therefore requires Accountant for the record of accounting information for the purpose of making;

Chukwu (2004) sees accounting as the process of recording, classified, summarizing, analyzing and interpreting financial transactions and communicating the result therefore to the interested users.

Small scale business: This means business owned by one or two individuals always family influenced to and in the day to day operations of the business usually with inadequate specialist support.

It is called a small scale business because it is the business that employs a small number of employees or workers. It is an industrial undertaking in which the investment is fixed asset in plant and machinery.

Bukola Oriola (2002) an eHow contributing writer defined it as a common means by which many are making a living. The chief executive can know and can be known by all employees throughout the business.

What is common in the definition is that they give an upper limit of employment or turnover or even investment capital above which a business would not be regarded as small scale business. The implication is that any business employing one or more persons and having an annual turnover of investment capital raging from one naira upward to the stated limit fails within the definition of a small-scale business. It does not appear that there is any significant loss to the economy arising from these definitions. What is important is whether the target group however defined is receiving the right impact of government policy designed for its benefit. A further look on these definitions reveals that emphasis is also on placed on independent ownership and type of business.

Nwakoby (1988) is of the opinion that definitions of small scale business especially those given because there is absence of appropriate records and suspicious on the part of the owner(s).

Koontz and O’Donnel stated that an efficient management and accounting structure for system is likely to be one that operates without waste or carelessness and makes for work satisfactions has clear outlines of anything and proper exaction of responsibility allows appropriate participation in problem solving gives provision for security, status and furnishes an opportunity for personal development and competitive pay rates.

For any accounting system to be meaningful and perfect, there must be some scientific approach to management and accounting. 

Problems to decision making, what was considered necessary were target date as well as the evaluation of performance as it relates to established goals. Witting the accounting framework, cost accounting techniques are used as it attempts to measure the cost of producing and distributing goods and services.

Most cost accounting problems involves the determination of manufacturing cost, management control, business operations trend and formulation from financial cost accounting and operational records.

The role of accountant which is independent objective assurance and consulting activities designed to add value and improve enterprise operations. It helps on enterprise to accomplish its objectives by brining systematic disciplined approach to evaluate and imp rove the effective of risk management, control and governance process as it concerns Cuttix enterprise.