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Impact of Related-Party Transaction Education on Students’ Ability to Identify Potentially Unethical Business Transactions in Nigerian Universities

Abstract

Related-party transactions are an important area of accounting and business ethics because transactions involving individuals or organizations with close relationships to a business may create opportunities for conflicts of interest, preferential treatment, concealment of financial interests, and other unethical practices. Accounting Education students need adequate knowledge of related-party transactions to enable them to recognize transactions involving directors, managers, owners, major shareholders, family members, subsidiaries, associates, and other connected parties and to distinguish legitimate transactions from those that may present ethical concerns. However, students may experience difficulties identifying potentially unethical business transactions when they have limited exposure to practical examples of related-party relationships, conflicts of interest, inadequate disclosure, non-arm's-length transactions, and other ethical issues. Related-Party Transaction Education provides an opportunity to expose students to relevant accounting principles, ethical requirements, practical cases, and transaction scenarios that may strengthen their ability to identify potentially unethical business transactions. Against this background, this study investigates the impact of Related-Party Transaction Education on students' ability to identify potentially unethical business transactions in Nigerian universities. The study will be anchored on Ethical Decision-Making Theory, Social Learning Theory, and Experiential Learning Theory. Ethical Decision-Making Theory explains how individuals recognize ethical issues, evaluate alternative actions, and make judgments concerning appropriate conduct. Social Learning Theory emphasizes the development of knowledge and behaviour through observation, modelling, interaction, feedback, and reinforcement. Experiential Learning Theory explains how students develop practical competence through direct experience, reflection, conceptualization, and active application of knowledge to realistic situations. Collectively, these theoretical perspectives provide a suitable framework for explaining how Related-Party Transaction Education may influence students' ability to identify potentially unethical business transactions. The study will adopt a quantitative quasi-experimental research design. The population will comprise Accounting Education students enrolled in selected Nigerian universities. A multistage sampling technique will be used to select universities, departments, levels of study, classes, and eligible students. Data will be collected using structured questionnaires, related-party transaction knowledge tests, ethical transaction-identification tasks, case scenarios, practical assessment instruments, observation checklists, and pre-test and post-test assessments. Related-Party Transaction Education will be assessed using indicators such as identification of related parties, understanding of related-party relationships, directors' transactions, managers' transactions, owners' transactions, major shareholders' transactions, family-related transactions, subsidiary transactions, associate transactions, joint-venture relationships, parent-company relationships, key-management personnel transactions, close-family relationships, common-control relationships, connected-business relationships, conflicts of interest, self-dealing transactions, preferential transactions, non-arm's-length transactions, below-market transactions, above-market transactions, unusual transactions, concealed transactions, undisclosed relationships, inadequate disclosure, incomplete disclosure, misleading disclosure, inappropriate valuation, unusual pricing, preferential credit terms, preferential payment terms, unusual loans, related-party loans, guarantees, asset transfers, property transactions, sales to related parties, purchases from related parties, service transactions, management fees, consultancy fees, rental arrangements, financing arrangements, interest-free transactions, discounted transactions, excessive compensation, unusual remuneration, dividend arrangements, procurement relationships, supplier relationships, customer relationships, transactions with entities controlled by directors, transactions involving family-owned businesses, transactions involving employees' private interests, ethical principles, professional conduct, conflict-of-interest rules, transparency, accountability, fairness, integrity, objectivity, professional skepticism, independence, confidentiality, disclosure requirements, documentation requirements, approval procedures, authorization procedures, board oversight, audit committee oversight, internal controls, corporate governance, ethical reporting, whistleblowing awareness, fraud-risk awareness, transaction review, transaction comparison, transaction evaluation, case-study analysis, scenario-based learning, classroom discussions, practical demonstrations, group activities, individual exercises, ethical dilemma exercises, repeated practice, feedback, and assessment. Students' ability to identify potentially unethical business transactions will be assessed using indicators such as ability to identify related-party relationships, recognize conflicts of interest, identify self-dealing, recognize preferential treatment, detect non-arm's-length transactions, identify unusual transaction prices, recognize unusual credit arrangements, identify concealed relationships, detect inadequate disclosure, identify incomplete disclosure, recognize misleading disclosure, identify unusual loans, recognize related-party financing, identify inappropriate guarantees, recognize questionable asset transfers, identify unusual sales and purchases, recognize questionable service arrangements, identify unusual management fees, identify questionable consultancy fees, recognize unusual rental arrangements, identify inappropriate compensation arrangements, recognize unusual remuneration, identify questionable procurement relationships, identify transactions involving directors' personal interests, recognize transactions involving family interests, identify transactions involving entities controlled by management, recognize transactions involving major shareholders, identify transactions involving subsidiaries and associates, identify transactions involving key-management personnel, recognize close-family relationships, identify common-control relationships, detect unusual pricing, recognize below-market transactions, recognize above-market transactions, identify unusual payment terms, recognize preferential payment arrangements, identify unusual financing arrangements, recognize undisclosed benefits, identify potential conflicts between personal and organizational interests, recognize transactions lacking appropriate authorization, identify transactions lacking adequate documentation, recognize transactions requiring additional disclosure, identify potential ethical violations, distinguish legitimate related-party transactions from potentially unethical transactions, apply professional skepticism, evaluate transaction circumstances, examine supporting information, question unusual transaction features, recognize warning signs, identify ethical risks, assess transparency, assess fairness, assess objectivity, identify accountability concerns, recognize governance weaknesses, identify inadequate internal controls, identify potential fraud risks, identify transactions requiring further investigation, identify transactions requiring management review, identify transactions requiring audit attention, identify transactions requiring disclosure, and demonstrate overall ability to identify potentially unethical business transactions. Descriptive statistics will be used to summarize students' demographic and academic characteristics, exposure to Related-Party Transaction Education, and levels of ability to identify potentially unethical business transactions. Inferential statistical techniques, including paired and independent t-tests, analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), correlation analysis, and multiple regression analysis where appropriate, will be used to determine the impact of Related-Party Transaction Education on students' ability to identify potentially unethical business transactions. Where a quasi-experimental design is adopted, students' identification scores before and after the educational intervention may be compared with those of a control group receiving conventional classroom 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 Related-Party Transaction Education has a significant positive impact on students' ability to identify potentially unethical business transactions in Nigerian universities. Students exposed to structured and practical education on related-party transactions are expected to demonstrate improved ability to recognize relationships between businesses and connected individuals or entities and identify transaction characteristics that may indicate ethical concerns. Education on directors' transactions may improve students' ability to recognize situations involving personal interests of directors. Management-transaction education may strengthen students' ability to identify transactions involving managers and entities connected to them. Education on owners and major shareholders may improve students' recognition of transactions involving significant ownership interests. Family-related transaction education may strengthen students' ability to identify situations in which personal and business interests overlap. Education on subsidiaries, associates, joint ventures, parent companies, and entities under common control may improve students' understanding of organizational relationships that require careful examination. Education on key-management personnel and close-family relationships may strengthen students' ability to recognize less obvious related-party relationships. Conflict-of-interest education may improve students' ability to identify situations in which personal interests may influence business decisions. Self-dealing examples may strengthen students' ability to recognize transactions that potentially benefit decision-makers personally. Preferential-transaction examples may improve students' ability to identify unequal treatment of related parties. Non-arm's-length transaction education may strengthen students' ability to recognize transactions conducted on unusual terms. Education on unusual pricing may improve students' ability to identify below-market or above-market transactions requiring further investigation. Disclosure education may strengthen students' ability to recognize concealed, incomplete, or misleading information concerning related-party transactions. Education on related-party loans and guarantees may improve students' ability to identify potentially inappropriate financing arrangements. Asset-transfer examples may strengthen students' ability to recognize questionable transfers involving connected parties. Sales and purchase scenarios may improve students' ability to identify potentially unethical transactions between businesses and related parties. Service, management-fee, consultancy, and rental scenarios may strengthen students' ability to recognize transactions that require closer ethical and accounting consideration. Compensation and remuneration examples may improve students' ability to identify unusual benefits or payments. Procurement and supplier scenarios may strengthen students' ability to recognize conflicts arising from connected suppliers. Customer-related scenarios may improve students' ability to identify potentially preferential treatment. Practical ethical-case exercises may improve students' ability to apply accounting knowledge to realistic business situations. Professional-conduct education may strengthen students' understanding of integrity, objectivity, fairness, transparency, accountability, and professional skepticism. Corporate-governance education may improve students' ability to recognize weaknesses in approval, oversight, and disclosure procedures. Internal-control education may strengthen students' ability to identify transactions lacking appropriate authorization or documentation. Fraud-risk education may improve students' ability to recognize transaction patterns requiring further investigation. Scenario-based learning may strengthen students' ability to distinguish legitimate related-party transactions from potentially unethical transactions. Repeated practical exercises may improve students' accuracy, confidence, analytical ability, and consistency in identifying ethical concerns. Feedback from lecturers may help students correct misinterpretations and strengthen their ethical transaction-identification skills. However, the effectiveness of Related-Party Transaction Education may be constrained by limited access to realistic accounting cases, inadequate instructional materials, insufficient practical accounting activities, large class sizes, limited exposure to contemporary corporate-governance issues, inadequate lecturer preparation, limited use of case-based instruction, insufficient time for practical exercises, and weak integration of business ethics into accounting education. The study therefore expects structured, practical, case-based, and adequately supervised Related-Party Transaction Education to contribute significantly to improved ability among Accounting Education students to identify potentially unethical business transactions. The study is expected to contribute to the literature on related-party transactions, accounting education, business ethics education, ethical decision-making, corporate governance, conflicts of interest, professional ethics, accounting ethics, financial reporting, disclosure, internal control, fraud awareness, professional skepticism, practical accounting education, and ethical competence among Accounting Education students in Nigeria. The findings will provide useful information to the National Universities Commission, university administrators, Accounting Education departments, accounting educators, curriculum developers, professional accounting bodies, corporate organizations, auditors, employers, and policymakers regarding strategies for strengthening ethical awareness and practical accounting competence among students. The study will also provide evidence-based recommendations for integrating Related-Party Transaction Education into Accounting Education programmes, increasing the use of realistic business cases and ethical transaction scenarios, strengthening students' understanding of related-party relationships and disclosure requirements, improving practical identification of conflicts of interest and potentially unethical transactions, incorporating corporate-governance and professional-ethics issues into accounting instruction, providing structured practical exercises and feedback, and aligning Accounting Education programmes with contemporary ethical and financial-reporting requirements in Nigeria.

Keywords: Related-Party Transaction Education, potentially unethical business transactions, related-party transactions, accounting education, business ethics, ethical decision-making, conflict of interest, corporate governance, professional ethics, financial reporting, disclosure, internal control, professional skepticism, Accounting Education students, Nigerian universities, Nigeria.