THE IMPACT OF UNETHICAL ACCOUNTING PRACTICES ON FINANCIAL REPORTING QUALITY OF MANUFACTURING FIRMS IN NIGERIA

This study examined the Impact of Unethical Accounting Practices on Financial Reporting Quality of Manufacturing Firms in Nigeria. The study specifically examined the common unethical accounting practices prevalent in Nigerian manufacturing firms. The study examined the major causes of unethical practices by accounting professionals. The survey design was adopted and the simple random sampling techniques were employed in this study. The population size comprises of selected staff of Sumal Foods Limited in Oyo State. In determining the sample size, the researcher conveniently selected 80 respondents and 72 were validated. Selfconstructed and validated questionnaire was used for data collection. The collected and validated questionnaires were analyzed using frequency tables and mean scores, while the hypotheses were tested using ANOVA statistical tool. The result of the findings reveals that the common unethical accounting practices prevalent in Nigerian manufacturing firms includes; falsifying financial statements to mislead stakeholders, manipulating inventory levels to inflate profits is a frequent practice, underreporting expenses to enhance profitability is widely practiced and engaging in related-party transactions without proper disclosure is common. Therefore, The study suggests that accounting professional bodies in Nigeria should advocate for stricter penalties for auditors who misconduct themselves, similar to practices in other countries.