A Dissertation is submitted in Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Masters of Science in Accounting and Finance (MSc. A&F) of Mzumbe University
This study assessed the perception of accountants in relation to the IPSAS financial reporting quality of Tanzanian LGAs; a case of Manyara region. More specifically the study aimed at determining the relationship between IPSAS perceived knowledge and IPSAS financial reporting quality (relevance and faithful representation), to examine the influence of IPSAS perceived ease of use in the IPSAS financial reporting quality and to assess the relationship between perceived cost-benefits of IPSAS implementation and the financial reporting quality of the LGAs.
One hundred and sixteen accountants and auditors were taken as a sample of this study using purposive sampling technique and structured questionnaires were administered to the respondents. After data collection exercise we recorded and coded data through the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 23. We performed factor analysis and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to identify the common factors that account for the correlation between the research variables and to form the dimensions of research data set respectively. The factors loaded and met the requirements were retained for the regression analysis.
The study conducted regression analysis so as to examine relationship between IPSAS perceived knowledge, IPSAS perceived ease of use and perceived cost-benefits of IPSAS implementation against relevance and faithful representation. Generally, the regression analysis results show that IPSAS perceived ease of use and IPSAS perceived cost-benefit are the independent variables that are mostly related to the financial reporting quality.
The study recommended that future studies should consider the use of other approaches such as observation, interviews as well as focus group discussion in data collection so as to provide enough chance for accountants to give more elaboration in case of rise in doubts. The study further recommended that the Tanzanian LGAs and other responsible organs should take into consideration the significance of Accountants' perception in the implementation of IPSAS so as to get the anticipated results. However, there is a great need of building a robust understanding and skills to all accountants so as to assist in the implementation and application of IPSAS that will eventually attain its objectives.