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Effect of Partnership Dissolution Exercises on Partnership Settlement Skills among Accounting Education Students in Nigeria

Abstract

Partnership dissolution is an important area of partnership accounting that requires students to understand the procedures involved in winding up a partnership business and settling the financial obligations of the partners. Accounting education students need practical skills to prepare realization accounts, dispose of partnership assets, settle partnership liabilities, determine gains or losses on realization, settle partners' capital and current accounts, and distribute the remaining cash or other assets appropriately. However, conventional approaches to teaching partnership dissolution may emphasize theoretical explanations and routine calculations without providing sufficient opportunities for students to practise complex dissolution procedures in realistic accounting situations. Partnership Dissolution Exercises provide students with structured opportunities to analyse dissolution scenarios, prepare realization accounts, determine settlement amounts, and apply appropriate accounting procedures. Against this background, this study investigates the effect of partnership dissolution exercises on partnership settlement skills among accounting education students in Nigeria. The study will be anchored on Experiential Learning Theory, Constructivist Learning Theory, and Mastery Learning Theory. Experiential Learning Theory emphasizes learning through concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization, and active experimentation, providing a suitable framework for students' engagement with practical partnership dissolution activities. Constructivist Learning Theory emphasizes active participation, problem-solving, prior knowledge, and the construction of knowledge through meaningful learning experiences. Mastery Learning Theory emphasizes repeated practice, formative assessment, corrective feedback, and opportunities for learners to achieve clearly defined competencies. Collectively, these theoretical perspectives provide a suitable framework for explaining how partnership dissolution exercises may influence students' partnership settlement skills. The study will adopt a quantitative quasi-experimental or analytical cross-sectional research design. The study population will comprise undergraduate accounting education students enrolled in selected public and private universities across Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique will be used to select geopolitical zones, states, universities, faculties or departments, levels of study, and eligible accounting education students. Partnership dissolution exercises will be assessed using indicators such as frequency of practical exercises, identification of dissolution circumstances, preparation of realization accounts, realization of partnership assets, treatment of liabilities, realization expenses, determination of profit or loss on realization, settlement of creditors, settlement of partners' capital accounts, settlement of partners' current accounts, treatment of partners' loans, distribution of cash, deficiency treatment, insolvency of a partner where applicable, piecemeal distribution, gradual realization, lump-sum realization, case-based exercises, spreadsheet-based activities, accounting software, lecturer guidance, feedback, and opportunities for repeated practice. Students' partnership settlement skills will be assessed using indicators such as accurate preparation of realization accounts, determination of gains or losses on realization, appropriate treatment of partnership assets and liabilities, calculation of amounts due to creditors, settlement of partners' loans, determination of partners' capital balances, application of profit- and loss-sharing ratios, distribution of available cash, treatment of deficiencies, preparation of relevant journal and ledger entries, reconciliation of settlement amounts, identification and correction of dissolution-related errors, interpretation of dissolution information, numerical accuracy, and ability to solve unfamiliar partnership settlement problems. Data will be collected using structured questionnaires, standardized partnership settlement skills tests, practical dissolution tasks, partnership dissolution scenarios, case studies, spreadsheet exercises, competency-based assessment rubrics, observation checklists, and pre-test and post-test assessments where a quasi-experimental design is adopted. Descriptive statistics will be used to summarize students' demographic and academic characteristics, partnership dissolution learning experiences, practical exercise exposure, and levels of partnership settlement skills. Inferential statistical techniques, including chi-square tests, paired and independent t-tests, correlation analysis, and multiple regression analysis where appropriate, will be used to determine the effect of partnership dissolution exercises on students' partnership settlement skills. Where a quasi-experimental design is adopted, partnership settlement skill scores before and after exposure to partnership dissolution exercises may be compared with those of a comparison group receiving conventional partnership accounting instruction to determine changes associated with the intervention. Diagnostic tests will also be conducted to assess the reliability, validity, and robustness of the findings. The study is expected to find that partnership dissolution exercises have a significant positive effect on partnership settlement skills among accounting education students in Nigeria. Students who regularly engage in structured partnership dissolution exercises are expected to demonstrate stronger abilities to prepare realization accounts, determine realization gains or losses, settle partnership liabilities, calculate amounts due to partners, distribute available cash, and complete the dissolution process accurately than students exposed primarily to conventional lecture-based instruction. Practical exercises may help students understand the relationship between asset realization, liability settlement, realization expenses, partnership agreements, and partners' financial interests. Exposure to progressively complex dissolution scenarios may strengthen students' numerical accuracy, analytical reasoning, problem-solving abilities, and professional judgement. Case-based exercises involving insolvency, piecemeal distribution, gradual realization, and other complex settlement situations may improve students' ability to apply partnership accounting principles to unfamiliar circumstances. Spreadsheet-based and computerized accounting activities may further strengthen students' ability to organize settlement information and perform complex calculations efficiently. However, inadequate access to practical accounting resources, limited accounting technology, large class sizes, insufficient instructional time, limited lecturer training, and students' difficulty in understanding the sequential procedures involved in dissolution may reduce the effectiveness of partnership dissolution exercises. The study therefore expects structured, practical, progressively challenging, and technology-supported partnership dissolution exercises to contribute significantly to improved partnership settlement skills among accounting education students in Nigeria. The study is expected to contribute to the literature on partnership dissolution exercises, partnership settlement skills, accounting education, partnership accounting education, practical accounting competence, experiential learning, constructivist learning, mastery learning, accounting pedagogy, financial accounting education, and higher education in Nigeria. The findings will provide useful information to the National Universities Commission, universities, accounting education departments, accounting educators, professional accounting bodies, accounting firms, employers, curriculum developers, and policymakers regarding strategies for strengthening practical partnership accounting education. The study will also provide evidence-based recommendations for increasing practical partnership dissolution activities, developing realistic Nigerian partnership dissolution cases, strengthening students' training in realization accounts and settlement procedures, incorporating spreadsheets and accounting software into dissolution exercises, training accounting educators in practical partnership accounting instruction, using competency-based partnership settlement assessments, providing continuous corrective feedback, and creating opportunities for accounting education students to develop the practical partnership settlement skills required for effective accounting practice in Nigeria.

Keywords: Partnership dissolution exercises, partnership settlement skills, accounting education students, partnership accounting, realization account, partners' capital accounts, practical accounting competence, experiential learning, mastery learning, accounting pedagogy, Nigerian universities, Nigeria.