Economics is concerned with human behaviour, such as how people achieve their wants and the study of firms or companies and the government which is responsible for the provision of goods and services for its people in order to satisfy their wants. One can have a good idea about the concept of economics by studying some of the important ancient definitions of economics. Though, they are old but one can not dispute the fact that they are defined by the fathers of
economics. Some of these important definitions of economics as noted by Ande, (2014) are those of leading economists like Adam Smith, Alfred Marshall, Lionel Robbins and Samuelson.
Adam as cited in Ande (2014) defined economics as the science of wealth. The term wealth according to Adam means those goods which satisfy human wants and not just money. In another words, Alfred as quoted in Ayodele (2009) defined economics asa study ofmankind in the ordinary business of life. An altered form of this definition is: Economics is a study of man‟s actions in the ordinarybusiness of life. Alfred agreed that economics studies about wealth. But he does not accept the view that economics studies about wealth alone. In the words of Alfred, Economics is on the one side a study of wealth, and on the other and more important side, a part of the study of man. Man is the center of his study. According to him, the study of man is more important than the study of wealth.
In addition, Lionel in Ande (2014) defined economics as the science which studies human behaviour as a relationship between ends and scarce means which have alternative uses”. The definition of Lionel which is regarded as the most acceptable is based on the following basic assumptions:
- Ends are various. The term “ends” mean wants. Human wants are
- Means are limited. Means like time, money and resources are
- We can put time and money to alternative uses. For example, though time is limited, we can use it for different purposes. We can use time for earning money or we may enjoy it as leisure, and
- All wants are not of equal importance.
According to Samuelson as noted by Ande, (2014)economics is a social science concerned chiefly with the way society chooses to employ its resources, which have alternative
uses, to produce goods and services for present and future consumption”. This definition is general in nature. There are many commonpoints in the definitions of Robbins and Samuelson.Samuelson‟s definition tells us that economics is a social scienceand it is mainly concerned with the way how society employs its limitedresources for alternative uses. All this we find in the definition of Robbins.But Samuelson goes a step further and discusses how a society uses limited resources for producing goods and services for present and future consumption of various people or groups.
Recently, there are many definitions of economics just as there are different economists. Based on Lionel‟s definition of economics, Mackins and Oruta (2010) defined economics as a study of how man allocates their limited resources to provide for the wants and needs. Onwukwe and Agwu (2012) defined economics as a science concerned with those institutions which are in the use of scarce resources to produce to and distribute goods and services for the satisfaction of human want. In addition, Tolu, (2014) defined economics as a social science which deals with human wants and their satisfaction. It is mainly concerned with the way in which a society chooses to employ its scarce resources which have alternative uses, for the production of goods for present and future consumption. From the above definition given by Tolu, one could note that he equally shares the similar view just like any one of those regarded as fathers of economics. Hence, economics is a social science that study human wants or ends which are usually many, relative to available resources or means of satisfying them.
Concept of Financial Accounting
Accounting is a concept that affects everybody in his or her personal live just as much as it affects every business unit. We all employ accounting ideas when we plan what we are going to do with our money. Accounting has come to be known as the language and eyes of business
because owners, investors, employees, creditors, and others use the results of the accounting process in their planning, control, and decision making activities related to the achievement of an organization‟s objective. It is used in the business world to describe the transaction entered into by all kinds of organization and people associated with business such as managers, owner of investment, investors, bankers, lawyers, marketers, estate agents, stock brokers, accountant etc.
Financial Accounting is one of the key subjects in new Senior Secondary Education Curriculum structure of Business studies.However, accounting has been defined in different ways by different authors, some of these include: Lewis and Pendrill (2000), who defined accounting as the process of identifying, measuring and communicating economic information to permit informed judgments and decisions by the users of information. This definition is a useful one in that it focuses not on the accounting process itself but on the reasons why information is required. To Libby, Libby and Short (2001) accounting is a system that collects and processes (analyzes, measures and records) financial information about an organization and report that information to decision makers. Igboke (2003) sees accounting as that which equips individual with knowledge of recording, analyzing, classifying and interpreting financial information as well as the pedagogy required in teaching the skills. According to Akintelure and Oguobi (2003), accounting is an important element of this evolving market and can support or undermine the efficiency of a market. The lack of common accounting requirements around the world serves as a significant impediment to economic globalization by restricting an investor‟s ability to make informed decision about investment alternatives. Udoh (2004) defined accounting as a discipline concerned with the recording, analyzing and forecasting of incomes and wealth of business and other entities. Generally, it records in money terms the flow of economic values between or within economic entities.
Elumilade (2006) described accounting as the art of recording, classifying and summarizing in a significant manner and in terms of money, transactions and events which are, in part at least, of a financial character and interpreting the result thereof. According to Longe and Kazeem (2006), accounting is an important element of this evolving market and can support or undermine the efficiency of a market. The lack of common accounting requirements around the world serves as a significant impediment to economic globalization by restricting an investor‟s ability to make informed decision about investment alternatives. Also to Obazee (2007), accounting is an important element of this evolving market and can support or undermine the efficiency of a market. The lack of common accounting requirements around the world serves as a significant impediment to economic globalization by restricting an investor‟s ability to make informed decision about investment alternatives. In support of this, Ezeani, (2012) described Accounting as a discipline that involves the process of measuring, interpreting, and communicating financial information decisions. Ezeani further described accounting as a field of study read as a course in the school of Business Education and in Faculty of Management Science in institutions of higher learning.
Download Full Material-N5000