THE EFFECTIVENESS OF AUTOMATED RECONCILIATION SYSTEMS ON THE WORK PERFORMANCE OF ACCOUNTANTS IN ANAMBRA'S TERTIARY EDUCATION SECTOR

This study examined the extent of implementation of accounts reconciliation automation techniques on job performance of accounting officers in tertiary institutions in Anambra State. One research question guided the study and two null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. Related literature pertinent to the study were reviewed which exposed the need for the study. Survey research design was adopted using a population of 593 accounting officers in all the six public tertiary institutions (two universities, two polytechnics and two colleges of education) in Anambra State. A sample size of 239 account officers was used for the study. The sample size was derived using proportionate stratified random sampling while the total accounting officers in each of the institutions was determined using percentage. A structured questionnaire developed by the researcher was used for data collection. Cronbach Alpha method was used to establish the reliability of the instrument. Reliability coefficient value of 0.87 was obtained. Data collected were analyzed using mean and standard deviation to answer the research questions and ANOVA to test the null hypotheses at .05 level of significance. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to analyze data collected. The results showed that accounts reconciliation automation are implemented at a low extent by account officers on their job performance in tertiary institutions in Anambra State. Types of institution and years of experience do not significantly influence the mean ratings of the respondents on the extent of their implementation of accounts reconciliation automation on job performance in tertiary institutions in Anambra State. Based on the findings, it was recommended that Nigerian Universities Commission, National Board for Technical Education and National Commission for Colleges of Education should lay emphasis on the proper accounting automation techniques and measuring of efficiency deviations to identify weaknesses in the process of managing institution’s transactions.