Accounting Practices and Performance of Oil and Gas Industry (Upstream Sector) in Nigeria: An Empirical Analysis

This research work seeks to examine the extent to which Accounting practices affect the profitability of Oil and Gas companies in Nigeria, particularly those in the upstream sector. The specific objectives were: to determine the effect of accounting practices on Return on Assets (ROA) and Return on Capital Employed (ROCE) of Oil and Gas Companies in Nigeria. The study objectives guided the empirical review. The Researchers used Stratified Sampling Design approach. The target population comprised of Oil and Gas Companies in Nigeria. A total of 84 respondents were drawn from the population. Both primary and secondary data were used in the study. Primary Data were collected using questionnaires drawn using the Likert’s Scale with five points ranging from very great extent to no extent, while secondary data were sourced from already published materials. Hypotheses were formulated and data were analyzed using SPSS Software and other Descriptive statistical tools such as; percentages and tables. The result of the study showed that accounting practices had a significant relationship with performance of Oil and Gas Companies, particularly, the Return on Assets and Return on Capital Employed. It was recommended that proper and best accounting practices should be adopted by Oil and Gas companies to ensure better performance on one hand and fair, transparent and reliable financial reports on the other hand.