CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF STUDY
One of the most effective uses of accounting information is decision making. Decision making has being described as a purposeful choosing from a number of alternative causes of action.
The accounting information provides managers with the necessary information they need. In this case, it is the accountants that provide the information with which the management uses for its decision making. Managements can only come up with a good decision if they are able to get correct accounting information from the accountant. In a situation where the accountant does not provide correct information: this is bond to affect the decision making of the management adversely.
The question now is, how business executive know the company is embarking on a favorable decision or unfavorable one. The answer to this question is based on the management and the accounting information.
According to Ray (1996), most top level business executives have background in accounting and finance than in any other field. The essence of using accounting information is to enable managers make wise decision. It is also used (accounting information) to set up system of internal control to increase efficiency and prevent fraud in companies.
Accounting information aids in profit making, budgeting and cost control. In a company, it is the duty of the management accountant to see that his company keeps good records and prepare proper financial regulations. Management accountants also need to keep up with the latest development in the use of computers and in the computer system design. Accountants provides many special reports for management, decision making. This function requires the gathering of both historical and projected data.
Indeed only a limited number of studies in international management research have focus on the role utilization of accounting information in the holistic context of decision making strategies, processes and preferences (Carr etal 1994; woutersan and Verdaasdonk 2002).
Green wood and Hinings (1996) there is evidence which reveal the influence of accounting information in decision making process. it emphasize the important of a holistic context and which led to the integration of other institutional influence and multiple logics. It is in this context that the research wishes to evaluate the effectiveness and uses of accounting information for decision making in public sector.
In summary, accounting information is primarily concerned with data gathering from internal and external sources analyzing, processing, interpreting and communicating the result (information) for use within the organization so that management can make more effective plan, decisions and control operations.