Accounting Information System and Auditing Skills Required by Business Education Students in Colleges of Education for Financial Management in Industrial Organizations in Northeast Nigeria

Abstract

This study examined the accounting information system (AIS) and auditing skills required by Business Education students in Colleges of Education for effective financial management in industrial organizations in Northeast Nigeria. The study was guided by two research questions and two corresponding null hypotheses. A descriptive survey research design was adopted. The population comprised 247 respondents, consisting of 118 Business Education lecturers from three Federal Colleges of Education and 129 industrial managers from four industrial organizations in Northeast Nigeria. A multi-stage sampling technique was employed, involving purposive sampling of institutions and organizations and census sampling of all respondents. Data were collected using two structured questionnaires, validated by three experts, with reliability coefficients of 0.844 (AIS) and 0.845 (Auditing) established via Cronbach's Alpha. Data were analyzed using mean, standard deviation, and independent samples t-test at the 0.05 level of significance. Findings revealed that lecturers rated students' AIS and auditing skills as required to a moderate extent (grand means of 3.59 and 3.47, respectively), whereas industrial managers rated both domains below the acceptable threshold (grand means of 2.86 and 2.77, respectively), indicating that employers do not consider students adequately prepared in either area. Independent samples t-tests confirmed statistically significant differences between lecturers' and industrial managers' perceptions for both AIS (t = 13.661, df = 222, p < 0.05) and Auditing (t = 11.338, df = 222, p < 0.05). The study concluded that a substantial gap exists between the technology-driven and applied competencies Business Education students are perceived to possess and those industrial organizations actually require, particularly in digital security, payroll automation, risk assessment, and fraud-detection skills. The study recommended the establishment of well-equipped accounting laboratories, integration of computer-assisted audit techniques into instruction, and stronger collaboration between Colleges of Education and industrial organizations.