Accounting Function as Management Performance Tool in Organizations

Accounting function aims at providing accurate and sufficient accounting information to facilitate proper financial reporting and management performance. Accounting information is usually in the form of periodic or annual financial statements which are products of costing, financial and management accounting prepared for the benefit of a number of external interest groups. Accounting has its roots in the stewardship approach and as a management performance tool to guide the agent and the principal over the exact status of the going concern. Accounting function also involves financial statement analysis, interpreting the accounts by computing and evaluating ratios which relate pairs of financial information or items with one another. This analysis of ratios can be cross-sectional comparing the results of one company with another or trend. In doing so close attention is usually paid to profitability ratio to help keep pace with effective management performance. The exploratory research design was adopted for the study and result showed positive correlation between accounting function and management performance. The study was not exhaustive, therefore, further study should examine the relationship between audit failure and business failure as a matter of finding a solution to the problem. It was recommended that management should always carefully study audit reports to enhance decision making and management performance.