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Influence of Treasury Single Account (TSA) on Financial Accountability in Federal Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies in Nigeria

Abstract

The Treasury Single Account (TSA) has become one of the most significant public financial management reforms introduced by the Federal Government of Nigeria to strengthen fiscal discipline, improve cash management, enhance transparency, and promote financial accountability within the public sector. The TSA is a unified structure of government bank accounts through which all revenues, receipts, and payments of Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) are consolidated into a single account maintained at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Prior to its implementation, government funds were dispersed across numerous commercial bank accounts, creating opportunities for revenue leakages, idle cash balances, financial mismanagement, unauthorized expenditures, and weak financial oversight. The full implementation of the TSA in 2015 marked a major milestone in Nigeria's public financial management reforms by improving government cash visibility, reducing borrowing costs, minimizing corruption, and strengthening accountability in the management of public resources. Despite these achievements, challenges such as operational bottlenecks, inadequate technological infrastructure, delays in payment processing, resistance to institutional change, limited technical capacity, and integration issues with other public financial management systems continue to affect the effective implementation of the TSA across Federal Government Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs). Financial accountability remains a critical objective of public sector governance, requiring government institutions to manage public resources efficiently, transparently, and in accordance with established financial regulations and statutory requirements. Although several studies have examined the implementation of the TSA in Nigeria, empirical evidence regarding its influence on financial accountability within Federal Government MDAs remains limited and inconclusive. Against this background, this study investigates the influence of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) on financial accountability in Federal Government Ministries, Departments, and Agencies in Nigeria. The study is anchored on Public Finance Management Theory, Agency Theory, and Institutional Theory. Public Finance Management Theory emphasizes the importance of efficient government financial systems in promoting prudent resource allocation, fiscal discipline, transparency, and accountability in the management of public funds. Agency Theory explains that effective financial control mechanisms such as the TSA reduce information asymmetry and agency conflicts between public officials and citizens by strengthening monitoring, transparency, and accountability. Institutional Theory posits that government institutions adopt reforms such as the TSA in response to regulatory mandates, institutional pressures, and the need to improve legitimacy, governance, and financial management practices. Collectively, these theoretical perspectives provide a comprehensive framework for explaining the relationship between the Treasury Single Account and financial accountability within Federal Government Ministries, Departments, and Agencies in Nigeria. The study adopts a quantitative research design using a structured questionnaire administered to accountants, directors of finance and accounts, internal auditors, budget officers, procurement officers, treasury officers, internal control officers, finance managers, and other personnel responsible for financial management across selected Federal Government Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) in Nigeria. A stratified random sampling technique will be employed to ensure adequate representation of respondents from various categories of MDAs. Primary data collected from respondents will be analyzed using descriptive statistics to summarize respondents' demographic characteristics and perceptions regarding TSA implementation and financial accountability. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) will be employed to examine the influence of the Treasury Single Account on financial accountability. The measurement model will be evaluated using Cronbach's Alpha, Composite Reliability (CR), Average Variance Extracted (AVE), and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) to establish the reliability and validity of the research instrument. Additional diagnostic tests, including multicollinearity assessment, common method bias analysis, and model fit indices such as the Comparative Fit Index (CFI), Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI), Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA), and Standardized Root Mean Square Residual (SRMR), will be conducted to ensure the adequacy, consistency, reliability, and robustness of the structural model. The study anticipates that the Treasury Single Account will have a significant positive influence on financial accountability in Federal Government Ministries, Departments, and Agencies in Nigeria. Effective implementation of the TSA is expected to improve government cash management, enhance transparency in revenue collection and expenditure management, strengthen financial reporting, reduce opportunities for corruption and financial leakages, and improve compliance with public financial management regulations. The TSA is also anticipated to enhance budgetary control by providing real-time visibility of government cash balances, improving expenditure monitoring, reducing idle funds, and supporting more efficient allocation of public resources. Furthermore, the integration of the TSA with other public financial management systems such as the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS) and the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) is expected to improve financial control, facilitate timely financial reporting, strengthen audit processes, and promote prudent management of public funds. Federal Government MDAs effectively implementing the TSA are therefore expected to demonstrate higher levels of financial accountability, operational efficiency, fiscal discipline, regulatory compliance, and public trust. Conversely, inadequate implementation capacity, technological challenges, weak institutional coordination, and resistance to organizational change may reduce the effectiveness of the TSA in achieving its intended accountability objectives. Consequently, effective implementation of the Treasury Single Account is expected to contribute significantly to improved financial accountability, enhanced public sector governance, and sustainable public financial management in Nigeria. This study is expected to make significant theoretical and empirical contributions to the literature on public sector accounting, public financial management, government auditing, and public administration by providing robust evidence on the relationship between the Treasury Single Account and financial accountability within Federal Government Ministries, Departments, and Agencies in Nigeria. Unlike previous studies that focused primarily on government revenue management or fiscal discipline, this research provides a comprehensive evaluation of the TSA as a strategic public financial management reform influencing financial accountability using primary data and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The findings will provide valuable insights for the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation, the Federal Ministry of Finance, the Budget Office of the Federation, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), anti-corruption agencies, Federal Government MDAs, policymakers, professional accounting bodies, and academic researchers regarding the strategic importance of the Treasury Single Account in promoting transparency, accountability, and prudent financial management. The study will also provide evidence-based recommendations for strengthening TSA implementation, improving digital public financial management infrastructure, enhancing institutional capacity, reinforcing financial oversight mechanisms, promoting regulatory compliance, and fostering sustainable public sector financial accountability and good governance in Nigeria.

Keywords: Treasury Single Account (TSA), financial accountability, Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), public financial management, fiscal discipline, transparency, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), public sector governance, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria.