IPSAS Adoption and Accountability in Nigerian State Governments: Enhancing Transparency, Fiscal Discipline and Public Sector Governance

The adoption of International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) represents one of the most significant public financial management reforms undertaken by governments worldwide. Nigeria officially adopted cash-based IPSAS in 2014 and migrated to accrual based IPSAS in 2016 to improve accountability, transparency, comparability, and decision usefulness of public sector financial reports. Despite nationwide adoption, considerable disparities exist among Nigerian state governments regarding the level of implementation and realization of IPSAS objectives. This article examines the relationship between IPSAS adoption and accountability in Nigerian state governments by reviewing conceptual issues, theoretical foundations, empirical evidence, implementation challenges, and policy implications. Evidence from Nigeria indicated that IPSAS adoption has significantly improved financial disclosure quality, reduced opportunities for financial manipulation, enhanced legislative oversight, strengthened audit effectiveness, and increased citizens' confidence in public financial management. However, inadequate technical capacity, political interference, weak institutional enforcement, insufficient ICT infrastructure, and delayed financial reporting continue to undermine full realization of IPSAS benefits. The article concluded that sustained commitment to IPSAS implementation can substantially improve accountability and governance in Nigerian state governments if accompanied by institutional strengthening, professional training, technological modernization, and stronger regulatory enforcement.