“Accounting Is Everybody’s Business,” NDA Don Tells Nigerians

Prof. Nyor made the call on Thursday while delivering his Professional Inaugural Lecture at the Academy in Kaduna. The lecture was themed “Accounting is Everybody’s Business.”
 
The don, who specializes in financial accounting and reporting, said the absence of proper financial records leaves individuals and businesses without direction.  

“You can’t measure the progress of your business. You don’t know how your business is moving, whether it is moving forward or not,” he said. 
 
“The major objective of commerce, which is to make profit, you cannot measure it. And that is hindering business growth,” Prof. Nyor added.  

He said the lecture was targeted at micro and small business owners, individuals, and government institutions because accountability drives development.  

“Accountability involves being answerable for your actions and taking responsibility for your activities. It is core for national development. Without accountability, we are not just going anywhere in Nigeria,” he stated. 
 
Prof. Nyor explained that the theme was chosen because financial decisions affect everyone. “Everybody spends money, and accounting provides the data needed for wise decision-making. Transactions involve decision-making. You make a decision to spend, and if you don’t have data for those informed decisions, you cannot be taking good and wise decisions even for yourself,” he said.  

The professor further argued that accounting does more than track money, as it also builds character. “For you to be able to keep records, you have to involve a culture of discipline. If you are not disciplined, if you don’t have the aptitude for details, you cannot keep accounts. So, a person who is engaging in record keeping, that in itself enforces discipline into him. You need discipline to grow anything. You need discipline to be productive,” Prof. Nyor said.  

He linked accounting to leadership and integrity in public and private life.  “Accounting has a way of instilling all these qualities of accountability, discipline, probity, and even leadership to an extent. Because you can’t be a leader without knowing accounting. Everywhere leadership is involved, money passes there,” he noted.  

Speaking on challenges in the profession, the NDA lecturer decried students’ obsession with certificates over knowledge. “My most challenging aspect in lecturing is students who are not interested in knowledge, but are just interested in certificates. That’s why students see me as a difficult lecturer. Because I want you to know. I want you to know,” he said.  

“Getting a certificate is important, but a certificate without knowing is useless. It cannot bring progress, it cannot even help you yourself. We have come to an age where everybody is just after certificate, certificate, and knowledge is becoming scarce. But I hope that we’re making headway,” Prof. Nyor added.  


The inaugural lecture drew participants from the NDA community and stakeholders interested in financial literacy and accountability in public and private life.