ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
An Examination into Cocoa Financing in Ghana: the Case of Armajaro Ghana Limited).

Finance is needed throughout a company’s life. The type and amount of finance required for a business depends on many factors: type of business, success of firm and state of the economy. Cocoa is the most important export crop and remains the highest foreign exchange earner for Ghana contributing an average of 3.4% to the total GDP annually. Due to its quality, Ghana’s cocoa has been the benchmark under which cocoa from other countries are sold. This quality of Ghana’s cocoa has been earning the country good price and premium which no other cocoa producing country enjoys. Since the 1993/1994 crop season, Ghana Cocoa Board has raised offshore loans in US$ from a consortium of banks to finance the local purchases of cocoa. The Cocoa Marketing Company (CMC) pledges cocoa sales contracts as collateral for such loans. The overall objective of this study was to examine the various sources of finance available to Ghana Cocoa Board and LBCs and come out with the most frequently used source of finance. Explanatory research design was used, with systematic, convenient and simple random sampling technique to collect the necessary data. The findings show that both Ghana Cocoa Board and LBCs consider various factors such as availability of funds, speed, collateral and conditions as well as flexibility before choosing a source of finance. Also Cocobod and LBCs face some few problems such as high cost of finance, risk in terms of foreign exchange differences and marketing of the yield, speed in releasing funds and bureaucracy. The study recommends that there should be full liberalization of the marketing of cocoa, government interference within the affairs of Cocobod should be reduced, float shares to the public and also negotiate for relaxed collateral and other conditions. On the part of LBCs, it is recommended that LBCs should have access to sources of finance outside the country, combine other sources of finance such as floating shares to the public.

Source: KNUST
Evaluating post retirement experiences of pensioners in Ghana

Th‎‎e tr‎ansition from ‎‎employm‎‎ent to r‎‎etir‎‎em‎‎ent, wh‎‎er‎‎e th‎‎er‎‎e ‎ar‎‎e n‎‎ew ‎‎ev‎‎ents, n‎‎ew things to l‎‎e‎arn, n‎‎ew r‎ul‎‎es ‎and r‎‎eg‎ul‎ations, n‎‎ew opport‎uniti‎‎es ‎and ch‎all‎‎eng‎‎es r‎‎end‎‎ers r‎‎etir‎‎em‎‎ent ‎a bitt‎‎er pill to sw‎allow. R‎‎etir‎‎em‎‎ent brings ‎abo‎ut ‎unc‎‎ert‎ainti‎‎es. M‎any p‎‎ension‎‎ers in Gh‎an‎a do not ‎‎enjoy d‎‎ec‎‎ent r‎‎etir‎‎em‎‎ent lif‎‎e. Th‎‎e obj‎‎ectiv‎‎es of th‎‎e st‎udy w‎‎er‎‎e to: ‎‎ev‎al‎u‎at‎‎e ‎‎eff‎‎ectiv‎‎en‎‎ess of r‎‎etir‎‎em‎‎ent p‎ack‎ag‎‎es for p‎‎ension‎‎ers, id‎‎entify ch‎all‎‎eng‎‎es r‎‎etir‎‎e‎‎es f‎ac‎‎e d‎uring r‎‎etir‎‎em‎‎ent ‎and inv‎‎estig‎at‎‎e th‎‎e ‎‎exp‎‎ect‎ations of r‎‎etir‎‎e‎‎es. Th‎‎e st‎udy ‎adopt‎‎ed ‎an ‎‎explor‎atory d‎‎esign ‎as ‎a r‎‎es‎ult of th‎‎e ‎abs‎‎enc‎‎e of sci‎‎entific inform‎ation ‎av‎ail‎abl‎‎e on p‎‎ension‎‎ers. Th‎‎e pop‎ul‎ation for th‎‎e st‎udy w‎‎er‎‎e p‎‎ension‎‎ers who h‎ad r‎‎etir‎‎ed 5 (fiv‎‎e) y‎‎e‎ars ‎ago. ‎A s‎ampl‎‎e siz‎‎e of 190 w‎as dr‎awn. D‎at‎a coll‎‎ection instr‎um‎‎ent w‎as q‎u‎‎estionn‎air‎‎e. Conv‎‎eni‎‎enc‎‎e s‎ampling t‎‎echniq‎u‎‎e w‎as ‎‎employ‎‎ed to solicit th‎‎e vi‎‎ews of th‎‎e s‎ampl‎‎e dr‎awn. D‎‎escriptiv‎‎e st‎atistic‎al pr‎‎es‎‎ent‎ations which incl‎ud‎‎ed ‎av‎‎er‎ag‎‎es, b‎ar ch‎arts, cross t‎ab‎ul‎ations ‎and fr‎‎eq‎u‎‎enci‎‎es w‎‎er‎‎e ‎us‎‎ed to pr‎‎es‎‎ent th‎‎e d‎at‎a coll‎‎ect‎‎ed. It w‎as fo‎und o‎ut th‎at; p‎‎ension‎‎ers g‎‎en‎‎er‎ally did not find p‎‎ension p‎ack‎ag‎‎es ‎as ‎‎eff‎‎ectiv‎‎e; f‎‎em‎al‎‎e r‎‎espond‎‎ents r‎ath‎‎er fo‎und p‎ack‎ag‎‎es to b‎‎e ‎‎eff‎‎ectiv‎‎e th‎an m‎al‎‎e r‎‎espond‎‎ents, which w‎as ‎attrib‎ut‎abl‎‎e to th‎‎e c‎ult‎ur‎al disp‎‎ens‎ation pr‎‎ev‎ailing in th‎‎e co‎untry, ‎ann‎u‎al incr‎‎em‎‎ents w‎‎er‎‎e not ‎ad‎‎eq‎u‎at‎‎e ‎‎eno‎ugh, how‎‎ev‎‎er, monthly ‎allow‎anc‎‎es w‎‎er‎‎e r‎‎ec‎‎eiv‎‎ed on tim‎‎e; ch‎all‎‎eng‎‎es f‎ac‎‎ed w‎‎er‎‎e m‎ainly in‎ability to p‎ay monthly bills ‎and m‎‎e‎‎et ‎‎ev‎‎eryd‎ay d‎‎em‎ands, f‎amily ch‎all‎‎eng‎‎es, in‎ability to p‎ay w‎ard’s f‎‎e‎‎es for thos‎‎e who h‎ad w‎ards in school ‎and r‎‎e‎ason‎abl‎‎e p‎‎ension p‎ack‎ag‎‎es w‎‎er‎‎e id‎‎entifi‎‎ed ‎as w‎‎ell ‎as ‎acc‎‎ess to fr‎‎e‎‎e m‎‎edic‎al c‎ar‎‎e. It w‎as r‎‎ecomm‎‎end‎‎ed th‎at contrib‎utors t‎ak‎‎e p‎‎ension sch‎‎em‎‎es s‎‎erio‎usly to ‎‎e‎arn ‎a s‎‎ec‎ur‎‎e f‎ut‎ur‎‎e; ‎a s‎‎econd look sho‎uld b‎‎e t‎ak‎‎en ‎at th‎‎e N‎‎ew P‎‎ension Sch‎‎em‎‎e to incr‎‎e‎as‎‎e th‎‎e r‎at‎‎es of contrib‎utions b‎‎en‎‎efits or introd‎uc‎‎e oth‎‎er b‎‎en‎‎efici‎al ‎ar‎‎e‎as for wid‎‎er b‎‎en‎‎efits; ‎ann‎u‎al incr‎‎em‎‎ents sho‎uld b‎‎e r‎‎e‎ason‎abl‎‎e; it wo‎uld ‎also b‎‎e ‎apt to consid‎‎er th‎‎e n‎ucl‎‎e‎ar f‎amily wh‎‎en pl‎anning for r‎‎etir‎‎em‎‎ent.

Source: KNUST
Examination of accounting procedures and practices adopted by Ghana Water Company Limited

The issue of accountability and transparency remains resolutely important to governmental organizations as it is to the private sector. The study entailed the details and intensive analysis of a single case study design. Primary data were collected through the use of in depth interviews. Secondary data were also sourced through publications, and company’s annual reports. The researcher selected the 14 officers of the accounts and internal audit department of Ghana Water Company Limited to represent the sample size of the study. Qualitative research analysis was employed in this study. Explanations and meanings were constructed from the data collected using descriptive, inferential statistics and rationalizations as well as graphical representations in the form of Bar Charts were used to help in exploring more into data collected on Accounting Procedures and Practices at Ghana Water Company Limited. From the data gathered, it were found out that the source documents kept by the Ghana Water Company for their accounting procedures and practices includes: procurement requisition form, invoices, local purchasing order (LPO) payment voucher (PV), cheque voucher and receipts. The internal audit department pre-audits all transactions before they are finally transferred into the books of accounts as compliance to the best standards. However, careful and thoughtful design which could have been in place to avoid or at least minimize bottleneck was not available. The knowledge base of the personnel in the standards and its implementation is abysmal and needs to be brought up to speed. This notwithstanding the accounting procedures and practices by the company is appropriate enough to mitigate fraudulent financial reporting. It is therefore recommended that more workshops and seminars should be organized for GWCL staff by accounting bodies in line with best stand accounting procedure and practices

Source: KNUST
An Examination of the Credit Management Practices of Rural Banks: A Case Study of Asokore Rural Bank Limited

Many rural banks have sustained heavy losses because of poor credit activities. The main objective of the research was to examine credit management practices of rural banks. Specific objectives were to assess the mechanism of granting loans at rural banks, investigate how non- Supervision of borrowers influences the loan repayment, to establish how the diversion of loan funds by borrowers leads to default in loan repayment and to ascertain the problems encountered by rural banks in credit recovery. The study adopted a descriptive research design which assisted to examine the objectives of the study. The sample size as well as the population of the study was thirty and fifty respectively. The response rate was at 100%, which comprised staff of the bank in charge of credit. Data was gathered using a questionnaire and analysed using SPSS 16 and Microsoft excel. The study found out that the loan repayment default was as a result of non supervision of borrowers of the bank staff, and also as a result of inadequate training of borrowers on utilization of loan funds before they received loans. The findings also revealed that most borrowers did not spend the loan amount on intended and agreed projects. It came out that there are gaps in the credit management of the bank, which requires immediate response to safeguard the future of the bank. The study recommends that for the bank to reduce default in loan repayments, they should monitor the borrowers regularly so as to ensure that they use the loans they received for the agreed and intended purpose. Also training of borrowers before and after receiving loans should be done focusing on areas such as business management, bookkeeping and savings. Finally, the study recommends that since there are weakness in the credit management system of the bank staff should be trained in modern and efficient appraisal and recovery method. Further studies should be done on how credit management can increase financial stability of rural banks in Ghana. This will offer a broad analysis on impact of credit on profitability in Ghana.

Source: KNUST
An examination of tax evasion in Ghana: A case study of Sekyere East District of the Ashanti Region

This study examines tax evasion in the Sekyere East District of the Ashanti Region, using a sample size of 86 respondents consisting of 83 taxpayers and 3 revenue officials. Employing descriptive statistics, the results of the study revealed that, the following factors as the cause of tax evasion in the district; absence of tax education, high tax rates, non-application of sanctions, perceived inappropriate use of taxes by the government and businesses not being profitable. Inadequate staff and logistics, inability of tax officials to reach all liable taxpayers and absence of database, were the challenges that tax officials face in collecting taxes. Tax education and team work among others are recommended as means of helping to minimize tax evasion in the district and the country at large.

Source: KNUST
An examination of tender evaluation practices in Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies in Ashanti Region

This study is an examination of Tender Evaluation Practices in Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies in Ashanti Region of Ghana. It takes into account how tenders are evaluated and by whom and also the criteria for the selection of contractors. The effectiveness of the processes of evaluation is also considered as well as interferences with the process. The researcher used quantitative data which involved the use of primary source collected through the questionnaires from the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assembly. Data obtained and analysed showed that there were permanent Tender Evaluation Panel. In addition, there are unfair tendering processes in various MMDAs. Delays in tender evaluation due to lack of capacity consumes time and other resources. It was also noticed that tender evaluation panel members are remunerated by the MMDAs in question. It was proposed that influences from politicians must be eliminated to allow for true transparency and speed in tender evaluation. It is emphasized that Tender evaluation should be done against criteria set in tender documents.

Source: KNUST
Examination of project communication management on information technology projects in the banking sector in Ghana.

I.T specialists are involved in all IT projects in the banking industry to implement the project in such a way that will meet the requirements or expectations of functional staffs or customers. To achieve this aim thus the critical assessment of project communication on IT projects in the banking industry, the IT professionals have to share all the necessary information with the functional staffs of the bank in order for the project to succeed. In the course of the project information are transferred to the functional staffs of the bank in the form of specifications and reports through different communication channels. This means it is important to use to the right channel to communicate information to the right stakeholders to get them inform on the progress of the project by so doing limiting the conflicts that evolves on the project. For the researcher to have enough knowledge on the communication management that is being implemented on IT projects in the banking industry, 4 questions were proposed to seek for answers to them; how do IT specialist manage communication on IT projects in banking industry? What is the significance of communication management to IT specialist on IT project in the banking industry and wanted to know the impact project communication have on the performance of the project. The study involved 21 participants in which 7 of them were all IT specialist on in Bank of Africa and the remaining were purposefully sampled from the other departments of the bank, which is management, customer relationship officers and the tellers in the banking hall. The study determined the following from communication management on IT projects in the banking industry. First was the agreement of the participants to the significance of communication management on IT projects in the banking industry. The study also indicated that there were several media of sharing information on IT projects in the banking industry between IT specialist and functional staffs in the bank. Also, the researcher identified some barriers to effective communication on IT projects in the banking industry. They are, poor leadership, aims of the project not all that clear, unclear media of communication, bad reporting procedures, among others. Lastly, itiv was identified that poor communication led to, not meeting schedule, overspending and uncompleted projects. The study demonstrated that project communication strongly influences the success on IT projects in the banking industry. Therefore, prior to the start of each project, establishment and management of project communication management plans should be the priority of team leaders and management.

Source: KNUST
An examination of the effect of macroeconomic variables on Ghana stock market returns in Ghana

This study sought to investigate the effects of macroeconomic variables in Ghana Stock Exchange using time series analysis from the period of 2000-2013. Five micro economic variables were used which include Ghana Stock Exchange, exchange rate, inflation rate, T-bill rate (proxy for interest rate) and Broad money supply (M2). Data on the Stock Exchange was proxy as the All –share index where all these variables were obtained from the Ghana Stock Exchange and the Bank of Ghana as a secondary source. A test for unit root using Augmented Dickey Fuller was performed. This showed that the variables exhibited the presence of unit root at 95% confidence interval. Further Johansen and Julius trace and maximum Eigen value tested for co-integration came out to test for the existence of Long run relation among the variables where lastly this was followed by the estimation of vector error correction module of the short and long run impact relationship among the selected micro economic variables and stock pricing.

Source: KNUST
An examination of the effects of employee retention strategies on the performance of eelected Rural Banks in Ashanti Region

The retention of skilled employees has been shown to be crucial to the development and the accomplishment of an organization’s goals and objectives. A number of factors have been attributed to employee turnover. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of employee retention strategies on the performance of selected rural banks in Ashanti Region. The study was aimed at identifying the causes of employee turnover, to examine the various employee retention strategies available at the selected rural banks as well assess the effects of the retention strategies on the performance of the selected rural banks. Data collected for the study were from primary source mainly through questionnaires. A simple random sampling approach was employed to select the banks while a purposive sampling approach was employed to select the employees and the Human Resource managers for the study. The study revealed that HR managers of the rural banks use competitive salary package, guarantee of job security, challenging and interesting job opportunities, good training and development opportunities as the main strategies to retain employees in their banks. The study further revealed that employees had high intentions to leave because the above retention strategies were not well implemented in their respective banks. The long tenure of the employees at the rural banks was mainly due to unavailability of jobs in the economy. It was found that employee retention has positive effects on the performance of the selected rural banks. It prevents loss of organizational knowledge, disruption of customer service and also reduces the turnover cost of the organization. The study concludes by providing the rural banks with recommendations to adopt comprehensive and proactive retention strategies to retain employees and to reduce employee turnover intentions.

Source: KNUST
An examination of the effects of employee retention strategies on the performance of selected Rural Banks in Ashanti Region

The retention of skilled employees has been shown to be crucial to the development and the accomplishment of an organization’s goals and objectives. A number of factors have been attributed to employee turnover. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of employee retention strategies on the performance of selected rural banks in Ashanti Region. The study was aimed at identifying the causes of employee turnover, to examine the various employee retention strategies available at the selected rural banks as well assess the effects of the retention strategies on the performance of the selected rural banks. Data collected for the study were from primary source mainly through questionnaires. A simple random sampling approach was employed to select the banks while a purposive sampling approach was employed to select the employees and the Human Resource managers for the study. The study revealed that HR managers of the rural banks use competitive salary package, guarantee of job security, challenging and interesting job opportunities, good training and development opportunities as the main strategies to retain employees in their banks. The study further revealed that employees had high intentions to leave because the above retention strategies were not well implemented in their respective banks. The long tenure of the employees at the rural banks was mainly due to unavailability of jobs in the economy. It was found that employee retention has positive effects on the performance of the selected rural banks. It prevents loss of organizational knowledge, disruption of customer service and also reduces the turnover cost of the organization. The study concludes by providing the rural banks with recommendations to adopt comprehensive and proactive retention strategies to retain employees and to reduce employee turnover intentions.

Source: KNUST
An examination of the relationship between exchange rate and key macroeconomic variables in Ghana: An Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) approach

The study examines the influence of key macroeconomic variables on the exchange rate of Ghana Cedi (GH¢) against the US Dollar ($). The macroeconomic variables were money supply, interest rate, and inflation. Monthly data from May, 2000 to May, 2014 were used for the study. Using Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) approach to co-integration, the results show that there is co-integrating relationship between the variables, indicating a long-run equilibrium relationship among them. The study has established that the past exchange rate (lag of exchange rate) significantly affect current exchange rate. The study has also found a causal relationship between broad money supply (M2+) and current exchange rate. The study recommends among other things that Government and policy makers must pay careful attention to macroeconomic fundamentals due to their significant short and long-term effect on the countries exchange rate stability. Also, government must try to manage currency speculation since it has significant impact on the exchange rate of the country.

Source: KNUST
An examination of the relationship between internal control systems and internal audit in government agencies: A case study of some selected government agencies in the Brong Ahafo region

The study investigates the impact of integrated internal control systems on internal audit processes in public sector institutions. In this regard, six inherent hypotheses were proposed by the use of a model represented by five independent variables (control environment, communication, risk assessment, control activities and monitoring) and one dependent variable (internal audit). Using stepwise regression approach to Ordinary Least Squares analysis, the findings revealed that the internal control mechanisms have significant positive influence on the internal auditing activities in the public sector institutions. Also, some of the predictive variables were not significant when they were considered under the individual component of the internal control system but they were significant when they were considered as a whole. Thus, in order for public institutions to improve their internal audit processes, internal control processes must be revised and fully integrated to smoothing the activities of internal auditors in the public institutions.

Source: KNUST
Examining accounting practices of Small and Medium Enterprises in Accra Metropolis

Accounting documentation plays a major determining variable in the success or failure of most companies around the world. The general objective is to assess the accounting practices of smes in the Accra Metropolis. The study population includes all smes within Accra. A total number of 120 smes were sampled for this study by using the stratified sampling method. The main data collection instrument was a questionnaire that contained mostly structured questions relating to the research objectives. With the use of closed-ended questions, the researcher was able to obtain specific responses from the respondents. The findings indicated that a majority of smes do not have the following: petty cash book, debtors receivable ledger, creditors payable ledger, payment voucher, stores ledger. It was deduced from the survey that more than 70% of the respondents do not operate their business with these accounting books and records. Again, the study found out that, the major challenges are the number of staff required to write and keep the books, the perception that it will make the smes pay more taxes, the difficulty in maintaining the accounting system, and the fact that it is time-consuming. The study recommended that SME owners and managers should take part in seminars and training programs designed for bookkeeping and financial management to help improve their record-keeping skills since the level of education has a direct relationship with proper bookkeeping practices.

Source: KNUST