IMPLEMENTATION OF CASH BASIS IPSAS IN NIGERIA: CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS

Government Accounting has been operated based on Cash Accounting and Private Sector Accounting has been predicated on Accrual Basis. Whereas the Accrual Basis of Accounting has been working well in the private Sector, the continued application of the Cash Basis in the Public Sector appears to have thrown up a number of problems, the main ones being non-accountability and transparency, inefficiency and ineffectiveness on the management of public resources as well as unreliable records of government financial transactions. Additional accounting challenges had also arisen due to a lack of international standardization of the cash basis reporting practices. These have led to the pursuit of both remedies and alternatives to the cash basis system of public sector accounting. As a first step, the IPSAS have been adopted in Nigeria. Against this background, it is the objective of this study to examine the viability of the deadline, the key challenges and prospects of IPSAS adoption in Nigeria. A survey of accountants, internal auditors and budget officers of federal  government parastatals in Zaria metropolis was conducted to collect data on perceptions of challenges and prospects of IPSAS adoption in Nigeria. The population of the study comprised all the 24 federal government parastatals in Zaria metropolis. The sample size was 10 parastatals drawn using filters. Data collected was obtained from primary source through the use of Questionnaire, and secondary sources such as, Reports and Textbooks, Journals and magazines. Frequency distribution tables and simple percentages were employed as the methods of data analysis. The study found that, the major challenges facing the adoption of IPSAS in Nigeria are lack of adequate funding, lack of adequate and skilled manpower, lack of training and retraining of staff and the level of technology is not adequate. The study recommends that, Nigerian Government should put in place all the necessary facilities, make adequate provision in the annual estimate, intensified capacity building and training/retraining of wider spectrum for all financial officers, and provide robust and integrated ICT framework for IPSAS adoption and implementation.