The Effect of Financial Literacy on the Efficiency of Small-Scale Enterprises in Abia State, Nigeria

Okanta Sunday U

The focus of this research is on the effect of financial literacy on the efficiency of small-scale enterprises in Abia State, Nigeria. A review of related literature was carried out to examine the extent of work done in the field. Carefully structured questionnaires were used to collect data on the perceived financial literacy of small- scale business owners and their levels of efficiency. Stratified random sampling was adopted in which the researcher divided the small scale enterprises into ten (10) strata and thereafter random sampling technique was employed. A sample of one hundred and fifty (150) respondents, which encompasses the different strata, was used. One way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and student t-test at 5% level of significance was used in the determination of the statistical significance of the hypotheses. The result showed that the level of adoption of financial literacy by small sc.ale enterprises in Abia state was low, and the owner-managers highly perceived that utilization of accounting records could significantly influence their efficiency. From the findings the researcher recommended as follows: that the Abia State Ministry in charge of the development of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) should intensity policy efforts in financial and accounting training programmes for small-scale entrepreneurs, to ensure sustained awareness and use of financial records.