Creative Accounting, Performance of Deposit Money Banks, Nigeria

The recent collapse of firms has cast doubt on the quality of accounting services provided by employees, as well as the credibility and quality of work performed by auditors (internal and external), as accountants have been accused of succumbing to pressure from management to prepare and present reports that suggest impressive performance and a clean bill of health for the organization in question. As a result, the study assessed the impact of innovative accounting procedures on the performance of Nigerian deposit money institutions. The study used a survey research approach. Four banks were chosen from a total of 21 deposit money banks in Nigeria using a judgmental random selection approach. 50 respondents were chosen using a stratified random sample procedure to provide primary data. The replies to the questionnaire on a 5-point Likert Scale were sorted into two groups, and descriptive statistics were utilized to examine hypothesis one and two. In the investigation of hypothesis three, the correlation approach was used. The findings of the research revealed that creative accounting has a major impact on the non-financial and financial performance of Nigerian banks. A strong link was also discovered between the contribution of creative accounting practices to bank financial and non-financial performance. According to the findings, creative accounting has a detrimental impact on Nigerian banks since judgments taken based on the information presented were false, resulting in claims of corporate failure as a result of such activities. The study suggests, among other things, that accountants working for organizations who want to engage in creative accounting practice should resist and/or persuade management by explaining in detail the consequences of doing so, as it is unethical and can lead to misleading financial performance indicators.