Financial Accountability and Prudent Management of Funds in Nigeria:The Way out in the 21th Century

The most controversial problem confronting most developing countries of the world like Nigeria is the problem of financial prudency and accountability. This is because in most cases, funds meant for the development of the entire economy are often diverted to private pockets by the privileged few individuals due to poor governance. Usually, poor governance brings about doubts in accountability which culminates into low pace of economic development. This paper therefore, examines the concepts of financial accountability, the needs for financial accountability, benefits and problems of financial management, and recommended that governments should be transparence by establishing code of conduct bureau to checkmate the activities of public officers holder before and after occupying public office, that various governments in the country should make sure that all public account is made public at regular interval, Public account should also be edited by independent body at regular intervals to disallow mischief in the public sector, and that appointments of public servant should be based on merit instead of political interest. Likewise reward and bonuses should be introduce and placed as a reward to the public servant who serves diligently as an example to others as the way out in the 21th century