EXTENT OF IMPLEMENTATION OF AUDITING GUIDELINES FOR ASSETS IN FINANCIAL REPORTING IN TERTIARY EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS IN SOUTH EAST, NIGERIA

This study determined the extent of implementation of auditing guidelines for assets in financial reporting in tertiary educational institutions in South-East, Nigeria. Two research questions guided the study and four null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. Related literature pertinent to the study were reviewed which exposed the need for the study. Descriptive survey research design was adopted, using a population of 1,405 accounting officers. Taro Yamane formula was utilized to select a sample size of 311. A structured questionnaire developed by the researchers was used for data collection. Cronbach Alpha was used to establish the reliability of the instrument. The reliability index obtained was r = 0.81 and 0.80. Data collected were analyzed using mean, standard deviation, t-test and ANOVA. Mean was used to answer the research questions and standard deviation was used to explain how the responses of the respondents varied. ANOVA and t-test were used to test the hypotheses. The results showed that audit guidelines for fixed assets and disposal of fixed assets were moderately implemented by account officers in financial reporting in tertiary educational institutions. The results also showed that there was no significant difference in the mean ratings of account officers based on type and ownership of institutions. Based on the findings, the researchers recommended among others, that the management of tertiary educational institutions should, as a matter of urgency emboss the institutions’ names on all assets and update fixed asset registers thereon to safeguard all assets against pilfering and other unauthorized uses.