*Says accountability, record-keeping essential for personal, business, national development By Abdullahi Alhassan, Kaduna A Prof...
By Abdullahi Alhassan, Kaduna
A Professor of Accounting at the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), Kaduna, Professor Terzungwe Nyor, has urged Nigerians, particularly owners of micro and small-scale businesses, to embrace proper record-keeping, describing accounting as a vital tool for personal, business and national development.
Prof. Nyor made the call on Thursday while delivering his Professional Inaugural Lecture at the Academy. The lecture was titled "Accounting Is Everybody's Business."
The financial accounting and reporting expert said operating without accurate financial records leaves individuals and businesses "in the dark," making it impossible to assess performance, track progress or determine profitability.
"You can't measure the progress of your business. You don't know how your business is moving, whether it is moving forward or not," he said. "The major objective of commerce, which is to make profit, you cannot measure it. And that is hindering business growth."
He explained that the lecture was designed to enlighten individuals, small business owners and government institutions on the importance of accountability as a cornerstone of sustainable development.
"Accountability involves being answerable for your actions and taking responsibility for your activities. It is core to national development. Without accountability, we are not just going anywhere in Nigeria," Prof. Nyor said.
According to him, the choice of the lecture's theme was inspired by the fact that everyone handles money, making accounting relevant to every aspect of life.
"Transactions involve decision-making. You make a decision to spend, and if you don't have data for those informed decisions, you cannot be taking good and wise decisions even for yourself," he added.
Prof. Nyor stressed that accounting goes beyond financial management, saying it also helps build character by instilling discipline, attention to detail, probity and leadership qualities.
"For you to be able to keep records, you have to cultivate a culture of discipline. If you are not disciplined, if you don't have the aptitude for details, you cannot keep accounts. So, a person who is engaging in record-keeping, that in itself enforces discipline. You need discipline to grow anything. You need discipline to be productive," he said.
He further noted: "Accounting has a way of instilling all these qualities of accountability, discipline, probity and even leadership to an extent. Because you can't be a leader without knowing accounting. Everywhere leadership is involved, money passes there."
Speaking on challenges facing the profession, the accounting scholar lamented what he described as an increasing obsession with certificates at the expense of knowledge among students.
"My most challenging aspect in lecturing is students who are not interested in knowledge, but are just interested in certificates. That's why students see me as a difficult lecturer. Because I want you to know. I want you to know," he said.
He added: "Getting a certificate is important, but a certificate without knowledge is useless. It cannot bring progress; it cannot even help you. We have come to an age where everybody is just after certificates, and knowledge is becoming scarce. But I hope that we're making headway."
The inaugural lecture attracted members of the NDA community, academics and other stakeholders interested in promoting financial literacy, accountability and responsible financial management in both the public and private sectors.
No comments