ABSTRACT

All the states in the Federal Republic of Nigeria irrespective of their nature, are easily and in most cases affected by the problems associated with fraud and financial irregularities. This therefore, calls for an effective appraisal of the role of the internal Auditor in budget implementation. To enable the researcher solve this problem, questionnaires were distributed to some ministries in Abia State. Also data was collected from Ministry of l.ands and Survey, Umuahia, Abia State. So from the data collected, the. following were identified that most of the Ministries do not have qualified accountants in the audit units. Most of the Internal Audit staff lack experience necessary for an efficient performance of their duties. The simple percentage and chi-square methods were used in analyzing the data collected. From these findings, it can be concluded that the internal audit system is effective. There is a significant relationship between the level of experience of the lnternal Auditor and the effectiveness of the internal control system. Based on the findings, the following recommendations are made, an audit staff with longer vears of experience should be employed as well as those with professional qualifications, the reporting responsibility of the Internal Auditors should be raised above what is obtainable presently.

Title page Declaration Certification Dedication Acknowledgement Abstract Table of contents List of Tables

TABLE OF CONTENT

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 Background of the study 3 1.2 Statement of the problem 5 1.3 Objectives of the study 6 1.4 Research questions 7 1.5 Research hypotheses 8 1.6 Significance of the study 9 1.7 Scope of the study 9 1.8 Limitations of the study 10 1.9 Definition of operational terms 11

CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE 14 2.1 Conceptual Framework of internal Auditing 14 2.2 Nature of Auditing 16 2.3 Users and uses of Accounting Information in State Govt. Environment 20 2.4 Budgeting 22 2.5 Budget Implementation 25 2.6 Role of Internal Auditor in Budget Implementation 25 vi 2.7 Effective Internal Auditing System 27 2.8 Factors Affecting effectiveness on an Internal Auditing system 30

CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 40 3.1 Research Design 40 3.2 Area of Study 40 3.3 Population of the Study 41 3.4 Sample & Sampling Technique 41 3.5 Sample size Determination 42 3.6 Sources of Data 3.6.1 Primary Data 43 3.6.2 Secondary Data 43 3.7 Data Analysis Technique 43 3.8 Operational Measures of variables 44

CHAPTER FOUR: PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA 45 4.1 Presentation of Data 45 4.2 Data Analysis 47 4.3 Testing of Hypothesis 56 4.4 Hypothesis One 56 4.5 Degree of Freedom 58 4.6 . Conclusion 59 vii

CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS G 5.1 Summary of Findings 60 5.2 Conclusions 61 5.3 Recommendations 62 References 64 Journals 66

TABLES 4.1 Responsive rate Table 4.2 Distribution of Internal Auditors Qualification Table 4.3 The Internal Auditors level of Experience 4.4 The person or group of persons the Internal Auditors report to 4.5 Frequency of implementaticn on the Internal Auditor's recommendation 4.6 Adequacy of Internal Audit Staff 4.7 Frequency of banking cash receipts 4.8 The responsibility of receiving receipts 4.9 The responsibility of recording disbursement 4.10 System of Control over receipts 4.11 Duration of accounting personnel on a function 4.12 Checks in payroll 4.13 General analysis Chi-square table 4.14 Calculative Chi-squaretable

APPENDICES LIST OF TABLES 3.1 The Internal Auditors level of experience. 4.1 Response rate table. 4.2 Distribution of Internal Auditor's qualification. 4.4 The person or group of persons the Internal Auditors reports to. 4.5 4.6 Frequency of implementation on the Internal recommendation. Adequacy of Internal Audit Staff. Auditors 4.7 Frequency of bankinq cash receipts. 4.8 The responsibility of receiving receipts. 4.9 The responsibility of recording disbursements. 4.10 System of control over receipts.. 4.11 Duration of accounting personnel on a function. 4.12 Checks in payroll.