THE CHALLENGES OF FINANCIAL CONTROL IN BANKING INDUSTRY A CASE STUDY OF UNION BANK NIGERIA PLC.

CHAPTER ONE

1. INTRODUCTION

It is impressive to state that success or failure of any industry (most especially the banking industry) depends on how well the finance is controlled. Some banks have liquidated due to ineffective financial control.

        Financial control thus be defined as the process which assumes that financial resources are obtained economically on used efficiently and effectively in the accomplishment of desired goals.   It will be found that there control parameter or benchmarks, which becomes the standard against which subsequent actions are compared are themselves the product of financial planing decisions.  However, since financial control is an assurance process, it includes the process of decision making.  If the assertion is accepted that management consist of decision and actions financial control becomes a part of the process f making financial decision but not the decision themselves.

It covers the entire process of monitoring actions emanating form the decision seen as an integral part of financial management, it also forms part of planning, budgeting, accounting, reporting and reviews.

A financial control system has some principal characteristic.       

1. Its focus is on the financial objectives (as giver)
2. It compares two typed of data planned or predetermine data and actual data.
3. It permeates all aspects of financial management functions.
4. It is concerned with those resource revenue and expenditure which can be express in monetary term or can be combined with other quantitative data to express same e.g personal, materials procurement etc.
5. It follows a definite cycle that ie rhythmic as in the budget cycle, accounting cycle, auditing cycle etc.
6. To be effective it needs to be co-ordinated and integrated.

In this project work the researcher shall enumerate some of the financial tools those employed by the banking industry and their effectiveness.

However, financial system refers to a set of rules and regulations and the aggregation of the financial arrangement, institutions and agents that interact with other and the rest of the world to foster economic growth and development of a nation, it does this by providing a medium of a nation, it does this by providing a medium of exchange which promotes specialization, mobilization of saving from the surplus unit and channeling them into deficit unit of the  economy for productive investment which would enhances the productive capacity and overall output and employment.

An efficient and a highly developed financial system is essential to a healthy economy.  It is primary role is the distribution of capital in the economy e.g the personal saving of an individual placed in a bank, can be loaned to  another individual to buy a house or a business form to build a plant thus our can see that the activity if the financial affects every citizen within the economy.

1.1   STATEMENT OF PROBLEMS:

There has been an increase in the rate of collapse in the financial institutions most especially the banking industry.  These are likely due to a lack of financial control.

        This has however geared the researcher to look in questions stated below.

1. What financial control measures were adopted by financial  institutions and there adequacy (s)?
2. How effective is the financial control system?
3. What are the limitations of effective financial control system ?

1. 1. PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

The main purpose of this research work is to meet the requirement of the award of higher national diploma (HND).

Also since it is know that finance (money) is the life blood of any country, the researcher has taken a keen interest to look into the measures/tools used by the financial controller to evaluate the control of finance in financial institutions (Banking industry as a case study).

More so to determine whether these control measures are effectively employed.  This help a lot to know the casuals of failure in the banking industry in one country.

1. 1. STATEMENT OF HYPOTHESIS

There are statement of relationship between variables that are related to problems which the researcher wishes to investigate. They are as follows.

Ho 1. That lack of proper financial control in banking industry has
      prevents the failure and liquidation of banking industry.

Hi  That lack of proper financial control in baking industry

      has prevent the failure and liquidation of banking

      industries.

H0 2. That proper financial control in banking industry
      encourages financial institutions to give out more loans
      to banking industry.

1. 1. SIGNIFICANT OF THE STUDY

Since finance is the “Life wire” of every  industry of which if not properly managed will make an industry to collapse, there no doubt that the significance or important of its study cannot be over emphasized.

The study is significance in the sense that it will bring to line light the effective financial control measures which the baking industry should adopt inorder to curb the ill befalling it and thereby achieving great success.

Another significant of the study is that it is a good vehicle for rapplied learning for student.

1. 1. SCOPE OF THE STUDY

There are lots of financial control measures used in the banking industry but this research work shall be restricted to financial statements, ration analysis and financial budgets.  There tools are used to evaluate an industry's  performance in dimension that are crucial to its health and survival.

The research interested covering several banks in different parts of the country but due to some constrains which shall be discussed later, the research has been limited to union bank PLC.

The finding from the case study shall be used to represent the situation in the banking industry in Nigerian.

1. 1. LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

It is not easy task to undertake research work in any filed of human endeavor.  Mine is not an exception, such problems like finance, secrecy, the size of the establishment and time have all contributed to narrowed result.

Secrecy:  This has to a great extent limited the scope of my study. The banking industry dwells strictly on keeping secret any information concerning its affairs.

This did not enable the researcher get much information to back research findings.

Size of the Establishment:  The researcher only careered a branch of union bank out of the many branches and head offices.

This is due to fact that the  head office is for from school and which the researcher cannot keep visiting due to lack of adequate fund and time.

Finance:   The researcher did not find  it easy going from school tot he case study every time before he could get the little data and because the researcher was running short of  fund, the visit not be intensified.

Time:  The time allotted this research work is to short and coupled with other academic work which the researcher has to face, thereby reducing the research work minimum.

1. 1. DEFINITION OF TERMS:

In other to acid proper understanding, some terminologist  are defined below.

1. C. O. T:  Commission on turnover.
2. C. B. N:  Central Bank of Nigeria
3. NDIC:     Nigeria deposit insurance co-operation
4. JAMB:    Joint Admission and Matriculation Board
5. ZBA:         Zero Balancing Account, which allows the  
    writing of cheques against individual

operating account containing no funds.

1. Internal check:  This is known ad the basic principles of internal control.
2. Crush tellers:  There are control copies of bank tellers
3. Floats:  This is the money in the process of being collected.
4. Disbursement float:  This is the money pond by a four to its employees, suppliers, creditors etc.
5. Collection float; This is money being recovered by a firm from its customers.
6. Wire transfer;  Transfer of money in an account from one branch through the use of computer.
7. Depository transfer cheque: There are cheque without signature which one payable only to account in the  firm’s concentration bank.
8. Concentration bank:  It is a major bank to a firm where all the excess money of the firm are transferred into.