FUND ACCOUNTING IN THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT SYSTEM (A CASE STUDY OF NSUKKA LOCAL GOVERNMENT OF ENUGU STATE)

 1.0RESEARCH BACKGROUND 

The term “fund accounting”  is as old as the world itself. The origin of fund accounting could be traced to the parable of talents in the holy Bible (Mathew 25: 14-30) about a man who delivered his goods to three of his servants and traveled to a far country two of them traded with their and made profits while the third went and buried his in the ground. When the time for accounting for the fund came they all rendered  their accounts for the activities to  their master accounting has been defined as a discipline concerned with identifying analysis forecasting of income and expenditure and recording of  financial information” generally , it records in monetary terms the flow of economic value between or within entities.

The term “fund accounting’s often associated with either government accounting or non-profit making entities such as clubs societies and churches “ fund” in accounting may connote different meanings.  In private sector it may be used to describe net current asset (current assets less current liabilities) as when used in the statement of sources and  application of funds” it may also be used to describe an asset set aside for particular purpose it may also denote cash or securities.

A very fundamental point to note is that a fund is an accounting entity. A successful organization whether private public profit or non profit making needs to keep proper account of cash inflows and outflows. Therefore the importance of fund accounting in public sector including  local government cannot be over-stressed local government by their nature an concerned with the provision of prescribed services at local level and carrying out certain local functions thus the accounts kept by the local governments is designed to,.

The essence of the foregoing is that a local government should be able to demonstrate sound stewardship in the conducts of the financial affairs of the community which is serves.  Factually the accounting arrangement of the local government are some times described as stewardship accounting this term dues not however imply and different objectives and emphasis form those of a business organization. Nevertheless local governments accounting is as deeply rooted in the double entry system as business accounting. Books of prime entry and ledgers are maintained trial balances are regularly prepared and these lead on the preparation of summary accounts of revenue and expenditure for the appropriate period and a statement of  affairs at the end of that period.

In conclusion since the local government is duty bound to report all its financial activities  to higher echelons government and the general public the account must be comprehensive enough to enable people to know how public funds entrusted in the hands of the government have been utilized.