Nnamdi Azikiwe University Journals
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INFLUENCE OF FORENSIC ACCOUNTING SKILLS ON FRAUD INVESTIGATION IN NIGERIAN ELECTRICITY DISTRIBUTION FIRMS
No full textThis study investigated the influence of forensic accounting skills on fraud investigation in Nigerian electricity distribution firms, with a focus on the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company. A descriptive survey research approach was used in this study. The accountants and whole internal audit personnel of EEDC across the eighteen company\u27s business districts, as well as the internal audit employees at the company\u27s corporate headquarters in Enugu, Nigeria, were the subjects of this study. The population of the aforementioned staff members was 52, according to a pilot study. The entire population size of the sampled Enugu Electricity Distribution Company was purposively studied. This is because the population (52) was manageable, and as such, there was no need for sampling. Multiple regression analysis was used to test the hypotheses at a significance level of 5%, and establish the statistical significance of the hypothetical link between the independent and dependent variables. SPSS, Version 20.0, aided this analysis. According to data analysis and regression analysis, The study found that forensic accounting skills of investigative flexibility, accounting and auditing expertise, analytical proficiency, and communication skills have positive and significant impacts on fraud examination in Enugu electricity Distribution Company, Based on the results, Internal Auditors and fraud examiners of the Nigerian electricity distribution companies should be encouraged by the top management and professional bodies to develop more interest on the application of investigative flexibility to enable them carry out effective fraud examination
STAKEHOLDERS’ ENGAGEMENT AND SUSTAINABLE GROWTH OF LISTED FIRMS IN NIGERIA
No full textThis study empirically investigated the effect of customers’ protection and government taxation on sustainable growth of firms in Nigeria. Two hypotheses were formulated to guide the investigation and the statistical test of parameter estimates was conducted using panel least squares regression model. Ex Post Facto design was adopted and data for the study were obtained from the Nigerian Exchange Group Factbook and published annual financial reports of listed consumer goods firms on Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) with data spanning from 2013-2022. The results of the study shows that government taxation and customers’ protection have positive and significant effect on sustainable growth of listed consumer goods firms in Nigeria. Thus, the study concludes that stakeholders’ engagement ensures corporate sustainable growth in Nigeria. The study therefore recommends that firms should accept and treat customers’ complaints with utmost priority and also create room for customers review in order to protect their interest which determines customers’ loyalty that invariably ensures firm sustainable growth. Also, managers of listed firms should pay their corporate taxes as and when due without any form of evasion as it’s through corporate taxes that government provide enabling environment and friendly laws for business sustainability in Nigeria
FIRM ATTRIBUTES AND AUDIT REPORT TIMELINESS AMONG LISTED CONSUMER GOODS FIRMS IN NIGERIA
No full textThe study ascertained the effect of firm attributes on audit report timeliness among listed consumer goods firms in Nigeria. The specific objective was to determine the extent to which firm profitability, firm size and firm leverage affect the timeliness of audit report among listed consumer goods firms in Nigeria. The study used ex-post facto research design. The population of the study was all the twenty-one (21) listed consumer goods firms on the Nigerian Exchange Group from which a sample size of sixteen (16) was obtained using purposive sampling. The study employed secondary data that were extracted from audited financial statements and annual reports of individual consumer goods firms from 2014 to 2023. The hypotheses formulated were tested using panel regression technique at 5% level of significance. The study found that: firm profitability has a significant negative effect on audit report timeliness among listed consumer goods firms in Nigeria (p-value =0.000); firm size has a non-significant negative effect on the timeliness among listed consumer goods firms in Nigeria (p-value = 0.5061); firm leverage has a non-significant negative effect on the timeliness among listed consumer goods firms in Nigeria (p-value = 0.7644). In conclusion, it takes longer time to publish audit reports of consumer goods firms that have higher profits, more debts and more assets. The study recommends that audit committees and financial managers should consider implementing streamlined auditing processes tailored to the specific complexities associated with profitable operations by enhancing communication channels between auditors and internal teams to expedite the review of financial statements and disclosures
Effects of Sodium Hydroxide Treatment on the Wear Resistance of Palm Kernel Shell Particles Reinforced Polypropylene Composite for Piping Application
No full textNatural fiber-reinforced composites stand as a better substitute for synthetic fiber-reinforced composites because of their numerous benefits, such as low cost, low density, and biodegradability. This study examined the effects of sodium hydroxide treatment on the wear resistance of palm kernel shell particle reinforced polypropylene (PKSP-PP) composite and determined the optimal composition of palm kernel shell particles (PKSP) and polypropylene (PP) for an optimum wear resistance of the composite. PKSP were subjected to NaOH treatment, washed, dried, crushed and sieved to a fine particle size of 53µm. Taguchi L18 Orthogonal array was employed in the design of experiments, considering PKSP, PP, wax, stabilizer, plasticizer and stearic acid as the materials, and the smaller-the-better signal-to-noise ratio was used in the analysis of the wear rate of PKSP-PP composites. The results showed that the optimal materials formulation that minimized the wear rate of PKSP-PP composite is A1B2C1D2E1F2 for the treated composite and A1B1C1D1E1F1 for the untreated composite. The treated PKSP-PP composite showed a better wear resistance than the untreated PKSP-PP. The findings of this study revealed that NaOH treatment improved the wear resistance of PKSP-PP; and the lower PKSP content, the better the wear resistance. This study concludes that alkali treated PKSP would be a useful material for reinforcement of PP for piping applications and in the other polymer composites applications where good wear resistance is highly needed as the quality characteristic of the products.  
Stochastic process assessment for XP600 printhead failures: A Weibull method study
No full textThis research presents a thorough reliability assessment of XP600 printheads using the Weibull method, examining the variables "Time to Failure" and "Total Runs" to understand their distributional characteristics and implications for maintenance. Both variables share a shape parameter (β) of 2.06187, indicating a right-skewed distribution. Notably, "Time to Failure" exhibits lower variability with a scale of 29.7615 weeks, while "Total Runs" reveals broader variability with a scale of 5449829 feet. Anderson-Darling goodness-of-fit tests underscore the superior reliability of "Time to Failure" (adjusted value: 0.970). Practical applications advocate for a time-based maintenance strategy, with the categorization of printheads based on both time and total runs for risk-based interventions. The integrated approach proposed extends beyond XP600 printheads, offering a nuanced decision-making framework for industrial printing technologies. Future research should explore intricate relationships between time and total runs, translating findings into actionable strategies for enhanced performance and longevity. This research serves not only as a reliability exploration but also as a catalyst for efficient maintenance practices in industrial printing technologies
An Assessment of the Effects of Different Soaking Pretreatments and Microwave Drying Conditions on Selected Phytochemical Properties of Tiger-nut (Cyperus esculentus)
No full textThe effects of soaking pretreatments and microwave drying conditions on the phytochemical properties of Tiger-nut were assessed. A two factor, four level factorial designs in a completely randomized design was adopted for the study and the Design Expert 13 software was used to establish the experimental matrix for the study. Tiger-nut samples were soaked for 24 hr, 48 hr and 72 hr at room temperature and dried at 100 W, 140 W, 200 W and 280 W microwave powers until constant weight was attained. The resulting samples were reduced and phytochemical contents analyses were carried out on them using standard laboratory protocols. From the results it was observed that the pretreatments and drying conditions caused reduction in moisture content of Tiger-nut to safe storage levels and variation in the drying characteristics (drying rates, drying time, and equilibrium moisture. The drying rates and drying time increased with increase in microwave power. The highest drying rates obtained at 100W microwave power were 0.161 gH2O/min for the 24hr soaked sample, 0.232 gH2O/min for the sample soaked for 48 hr and 0.158 gH2O/min for the sample soaked for 72 hr. The peak drying rates observed at 140 W microwave power were 0.325 gH2O/min for 24 hr soaking pretreatment, 0.365 gH2O/min for 48 hr soaking pretreatment and 0.449 gH2O/min for the 72 hr soaking pretreatment. The peak drying rates obtained at 200 W microwave power were 0.443 gH2O/min for samples soaked for 24hr, 0.323 gH2O/min for sample soaked for 48 hr, and 0.323 gH2O/min for sample soaked for 72 hr. The peak drying rates gotten at 280 W microwave power were 1.018 gH2O/min for sample soaked for 24hr, 0.938 gH2O/min for sample soaked for 48 hr, and 0.938 gH2O/min for sample soaked for 72 hr. The mean drying duration at which EMC was attained for 100 W, 140 W, 200 W and 280 W microwave power dried Tiger-nut was 580 min, 330 min, 310 min and 130 min respectively. The ANOVA of the phytochemical contents showed that at P 0.05, soaking pretreatments and microwave drying conditions caused significant alterations on the phytochemical properties of the Tiger-nut samples. There was a decrease in the flavonoids, alkaloids, tannin, and oxalate contents and a slight increase in the cardiac glycoside and phenol contents of the pretreated and dried samples when compared with the result obtained for the untreated sample (control)
Influence of chromium addition on the microstructural and mechanical properties of copper-magnesium alloys
No full textThe study investigated the influence of trace additions of chromium on grain characteristics, electrical conductivity, and mechanical properties of Cu-4wt%Mg alloys. The experimental alloys were produced with various chromium concentrations of 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, 0.9, and 1.0% by weight using the permanent mold casting technique. Tensile, hardness, impact, and conductivity tests were carried out on the cast samples. Microstructures of the specimens were also analyzed using optical microscopy. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analyses were used to characterize the cast specimens. The results showed that adding chromium to Cu-4wt%Mg alloy refined and modified the structure of the alloy, resulting in improvements in the ultimate tensile strength, hardness, and conductivity of the experimental alloy by 31.0%, 33.2%, and 24.7%, respectively, at 0.9wt% Cr content, and percentage elongation, impact strength, and electrical conductivity by 13.48%, 131J, and 32.3Sm-1, respectively, at 0.1wt%Cr content. The addition of chromium also led to the formation of the intermetallic phase which further contributed to the increase in strength and hardness of the alloy
Investigating the effects of Lanthanum and Tin additions on the structure and physic-mechanical properties of Cu-30%Zn Alloy
No full textThe study explored the effects of lanthanum (La) and tin (Sn) contents on the structure, electrical and mechanical properties of Cu-30wt%Zn alloys. The Cu-30Zn alloy was incorporated with varying concentrations of lanthanum and tin (0.1- 0.5wt% and 1.0-5.0wt% at 0.1 and 1.0 intervals respectively) and fabricated using a stir-casting technique. The Tensile strength, hardness, impact strength, electrical conductivity, and resistivity were examined. The microstructures of the cast alloys were analyzed using an optical microscope (OM), Scanning electron microscope (SEM), and Energy dispersive spectroscope (EDS). Results showed that the additions of lanthanum (La) and tin (Sn) refined and modified the structure of the alloy resulting in improvements of ultimate tensile strength, percentage elongation, hardness, impact strength, and electrical conductivity of the alloy, with 3wt% lanthanum and 5wt% tin recording the maximum mechanical performances and 0.1wt% lanthanum and tin exhibited the highest electrical conductivity. The electrical resistivity of the doped alloy decreased compared to the undoped alloy
Quadratic model for evaluating the hardness of hazelnut shell-polystyrene composite based on input concentration ratio of its constituent materials
No full textA quadratic model was derived for evaluating the hardness of hazelnut shell–polystyrene composite (HPC) based on input concentration ratio of the constituent materials. The derived empirical model: Ӈ = - ẞ (ɤf /ɤm)N + Ϧ(ɤf /ɤm) + Ҽ validated by the core model : Ӈ + ẞ(ɤf /ɤm)N ≈ Ҽ + Ϧ(ɤf /ɤm), in that both sides of the structure are correspondingly near equal. Ӈ, ẞ and ɤ denote the HPC hardness, input concentrations of hazelnut shell and polystyrene. The model-predicted results emphasize similar trend and spread of result points shown in previous research. Correlations between the HPC hardness and input concentration ratio of hazelnut shell and polystyrene were evaluated as 0.99998 and 0.9787 using model-predicted and experimental results. The standard error incurred on predicting the HPC hardness (relative to experimental results) is ˂ 0.3%, for every change in the input concentration ratio of hazelnut shell and polystyrene. This translates to a model confidence level above 99%. The HPC hardness per unit input concentration ratio of hazelnut shell and polystyrene were 6.8215 and 6.9557, using experimental and model-predicted results. The maximum deviation of the model-predicted HPC hardness from experimental results was 2.36%. The derived model shows an exceptional level of functionality, and will predict the HPC hardness, within the experimental results range, on substituting into the model, values of the input concentration ratio of hazelnut shell and polystyrene, providing the boundary conditions are considered
The Potentials of using Neem Bark Flour in Polymer Composite Production for Refrigerator Components
No full textThe particle variation and content of neem bark flour (NBF) on the mechanical properties of neem bark flour-high density polyethylene (NBF-HDPE) composite were examined. The HDPE and NBF were thoroughly mixed at 10-40 wt.% and particles of 10(2000 µm), 20 (850 µm), 40 mesh (425 µm); compounded with aid of an injection moulding machine, respectively. The NBF-HDPE composite sample produced was passed through micro-mechanical testing to ascertain the ultimate tensile strength (UTST), elongation (EL), elastic modulus (EMO), impact strength (IST) and Brinell hardness. (BHA), respectively. Scanning electron microscopic (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) was performed for HDPE, NB, and NBF-HDPE composite, respectively. The outcome from this research indicated that the NBF-HDPE composite UTST and EL lowered than the fresh HDPE with 10 mesh particles (2000 µm) of the NBF in HDPE matrix yield better values of 18.91 MPa and 7.5 %, respectively. However, EMO, IST and BHA of NBF-HDPE composite were greater than new HDPE maintaining an optimum value of 0.53 GPa, 95.77 KJ/m2 and 452.2 BHN at 40 mesh, 10 mesh and 20 mesh particles of NBF in the matrix of HDPE, respectively. The valued emanated confirmed that NBF-HDPE composite can be alternatively utilized for refrigerator parts.