ELECTRONIC ACCOUNTING A TOOL FOR QUALITY MANAGEMENT OF SMALL AND MEDIUM SCALE ENTERPRISES (SMEs) IN THE 21ST CENTURY NIGERIA

Abstract

The study was carried out to assess electronic accounting a tool for quality management of small and medium scale enterprises in the 21st century Nigeria. Two research questions guided the study and two null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. A descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. The population consisted of 3836 small and medium scale enterprise accountants and a sample size of 384 was taken. A structured questionnaire was used for data collection. The instrument was validated by three experts. The reliability of the instrument was ensured using pilot test technique. Data collected were analyzed using Cronbach Alpha formula which yielded reliability co-efficient of 0.84. Data related to the research questions were analyzed
using mean and standard deviation while the z-test analysis was used to test the null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. Findings arising from the study revealed that the uses and benefits of electronic accounting tool in the management of small and medium scale enterprises in 21st century in Anambra State were highly rated. Findings also indicated that there was a significant difference in the mean responses of accountants in small and medium scale enterprises on the uses and benefits of electronic accounting tool in the management of SMEs in the 21st century.It was recommended among others that accounting training institutions should incorporate the study of electronic accounting systems as part of their courses to ensure that accountants are equipped with both accounting knowledge and the required information technology skills.

Keywords: Electronic accounting, electronic accounting tools and small and medium scale enterprises, 21st century.