The effective management of business finance is critically dependent on the proper understanding of the interrelationships between different dimensions of financial management and growth performance of the business. This study examines the relationship between selected managerial finance functions and growth of business in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria using Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation model. The results show that all the managerial functions selected for the study are positively correlated with growth, but with varying levels of significance. The implication of the results is that, given the diversity and specialized nature of managerial finance, every dimension of management relating to financial resources should be taken seriously to ensure long-term sustainable growth of business.

1. Growth Implications of Managerial Finance in Business: Empirical Evidence from Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria
WJEF
Growth Implications of Managerial Finance in Business: Empirical
Evidence from Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria
*Ntiedo B. Ekpo1, NseAbasi I. Etukafia2, Ikechukwu A. Acha3, John O. Udoidem4, Ikenna E.
Asogwa5
1,2,3,4Department of Banking & Finance, University of Uyo, Nigeria.
5Department of Accounting, University of Uyo, Nigeria.
The effective management of business finance is critically dependent on the proper
understanding of the interrelationships between different dimensions of financial management
and growth performance of the business. This study examines the relationship between selected
managerial finance functions and growth of business in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria using Pearson’s
Product Moment Correlation model. The results show that all the managerial functions selected
for the study are positively correlated with growth, but with varying levels of significance. The
implication of the results is that, given the diversity and specialized nature of managerial finance,
every dimension of management relating to financial resources should be taken seriously to
ensure long-term sustainable growth of business.
Key words: Growth of business, Managerial finance, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
INTRODUCTION
Access to business finance other than its management is
the most widely explored area in management research. A
non-exhaustive list of important researches in the area
include Ojo, 2010; Nwangi, 2014; Fowowe, 2017; Regasa,
Fielding and Roberts, 2017). Most of the researches
attribute the poor performance and high failure rate of
business to limited access to financial resources without
explaining how the limited finances available to the
business were managed by the owners or managers
before the eventual closure. In this context, Fowowe
(2017) analyzed data from 10,888 firms across 30 African
countries and the results using subjective measure show
that financial constraints exert a significant negative effect
on firm growth. The author went further to apply objective
measure on the same set of data and found that firms that
are not credit constrained experience faster growth than
firms that are. In the same context, Regasa, et al. (2017),
modeled the effect of different types of financing on firms
growth using Ethiopian firm-level data and found a
negative relationship between the use of external finance
and firm growth, which suggests that there are substantial
cross-country differences in the finance-growth nexus.
Inter Trade Ireland (2013), offers a comprehensive report
on the relationship between access to finance and growth
amongst Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Ireland
and Northern Ireland. The report discloses that
approximately 25% of SMEs in Ireland and 36% of SMEs
surveyed in Northern Ireland are managing to finance their
business solely from internal sources, and that demand is
at least, if not more important than supply as the key SME
finance issue. Overman (2014) also carried out a
systematic review of almost 1,450 policies designed to
improve access to finance for business in UK and other
OECD countries with the aim of improving business growth
and outcomes and came with the conclusion that access
to finance programmes had a positive impact on at least
one firm outcome (e.g. credit, employment, sales) in 17 out
of 27 evaluations.
*Corresponding author: Ntiedo Ekpo, Department of
Banking & Finance, University of Uyo, Nigeria. Email:
nteebass@gmail.com
World Journal of Economic and Finance
Vol. 3(1), pp. 061-068, August 2017. © www.premierpublishers.org, ISSN: XXXX-XXXX x
Research Article

2. Growth Implications of Managerial Finance in Business: Empirical Evidence from Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria
Ekpo et al. 062
According to the report, the evaluation results for individual
firms were mixed, with only half the evaluations typically
recording a positive effect when looking at specific aspect
of the firm performance (e.g. employment).
Ekpo, Etukafia and Udofot (2017) in their study on “finance
manager and the finance function in business
sustainability” reflected on the issue of inadequate funding
of businesses as the necessitating fundamental to
business failure in the less-developed countries. They
concluded that financial access is critical for the growth of
small and medium-size enterprises as it allows
entrepreneurs to improve efficiency, expand to new
markets, innovate, and create job opportunities. Wamiori,
Namusonge and Sakwa (2016), examined the effect of
access to finance on financial performance of 199
manufacturing firms in Kenya and found a positive
relationship between the variables. Also, Ang Zhou (2015),
studied the influence of financial markets by exploring the
effect of access to finance on the performance of 2,700
private firms in China from 2011 to 2012 and found that
obstacle to firms’ access to finance has a significantly
negative impact on firms’ performance. Yildirim, Akci and
Aksi (2013), examined various firm attributes that affect
access to credit using a sample of 970 SMEs that operate
across nine provinces of Mediterranean and Southern
Anatolia region in Turkey and found that asset size, sales
volume and stability, export rate, and legal form are
important determinants of satisfaction with bank products
and services.
Harash, Al-Timimi and Alsaadi, J. (2014), propounded a
contingency theory that explains the effect of financing on
the performance of small and medium enterprises in Iraq.
The authors concluded that access to finance is essential
to the survival and performance of any business
enterprise. Fafchamps and Schundeln (2012), using
combined data from the Moroccan census of
manufacturing enterprises with information from a
commune survey, tested whether firm expansion is
affected by local financial development. Findings revealed
that local bank availability is robustly associated with faster
growth for small and medium-size firms in sectors with
growth opportunities, with a lower likelihood of firm exit and
a higher likelihood of investment.
Studying the extent to which credit terms and access to
credit have affected financial performance, Susan (2012)
using a sample size of 384 selected from a population of
110,714 SMEs concluded that credit terms contribute
33.1% of the variance in financial performance in SMEs,
while access to credit contribute 54.3% of the variance in
financial performance of SMEs. In a related study, Leitner
and Stehrer (2013), described the effects of the 2009
global financial crises on firms’ access to financing for
investment projects using data from the Latin American
and Caribbean Enterprise Surveys 2006 and 2010, and
demonstrated that during the crisis, the availability of
internal sources was crucial for larger and foreign-owned
firms or firms that were part of a group, while state-owned
firms did not enjoy any financial privileges.
Apparently, studies on access to financial resources
dominate the literature. The management of these
resources, and the implications for the growth of business,
however, has remain largely unexplored. Consequently,
the gap in literature has made many businesses tend to
undermine the importance of effective financial
management as a necessary fundamental in business
growth. Paucity of data due to poor record keeping by
enterprises and their unwillingness to disclose business
information for research in many developing countries may
be a key factor in the lack of research interest in this area.
Besides, most of the existing studies are based on
experiences in the more-developed economies, the policy
conclusions of which may not be suitable for the
development of businesses, particularly in rural economies
like those of Akwa Ibom State in a developing country.
This study therefore seeks to examine the relationship
between selected financial management functions and
growth performance of 105 enterprises in Akwa Ibom
State, Nigeria, using Pearson’s Product Moment
Correlation model. The following hypotheses are
formulated to guide the study.
𝐻10: There is no significant relationship between the
maintenance of accounting information system and
the growth of business in Akwa Ibom State.
𝐻20: There is no significant relationship between the
practice of financial reporting and analysis and the
growth of business in Akwa Ibom State.
𝐻30: There is no significant relationship between working
capital planning and the growth of business in Akwa
Ibom State.
𝐻40: There is no significant relationship between the
application of capital budgeting techniques and the
growth of business in Akwa Ibom State.
𝐻50: There is no significant relationship between the
planning of capital structure patterns and the
growth of business in Akwa Ibom State.
The scope of the study is limited to only Micro, Small and
Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), operating in Akwa Ibom
State as listed in the 2013 National MSME survey
conducted by the Small and Medium Enterprises
Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), in
collaboration with the National Bureau of Statistics. Also,
the research problem involves multiple areas of
managerial finance. But given information available for
research, managerial finance in this study is limited to five
specific areas namely, maintenance of accounting
information system, the practice of financial reporting and
analysis, working capital planning, the application of
capital budgeting techniques and the planning of capital
structure patterns.
In addition, there are different measures of growth in
business. This study limits the measures to trends in (1)
profitability (2) output (3) sales (4) employment and (5)
owners’ satisfaction of business performance.

3. Growth Implications of Managerial Finance in Business: Empirical Evidence from Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria
World J. Econ. Fin. 063
In theory and practice, many terms have been used to refer
to business such as “firm”, “company”, “entity” and
“enterprise”. They all differ in meaning but distinguishing
differences among these terms is not the purpose of this
study. In this study, all these terms are used
interchangeably, as though they have the same meaning.
The rest of the study is structured as follows. Section 2,
reviews the theoretical framework and conceptual issues.
Section 3 presents the database and methodology used in
the study. Section 4 presents the empirical results and
Section 5 contains the conclusions and policy implications
of the findings.
Theoretical Framework and Conceptual Issues
Many theories exist in which to locate and relate the
financial management and growth performance of
businesses. The most relevant theories to this study are
the agency, signaling and pecking order theories. Agency
theory stresses the separation between finance and
management in an enterprise. It is believed that
enterprises suffer as a result of separation of the
ownership which invariably results in firms being run by
professional managers (Akpan, 2013). Within a business
financial management framework, agency relationship
exists between principals (MSMEs owners) and agents of
the principals (managers). However, businesses that are
owned 100 percent by their managers have by definition,
no agency costs (Jensen and Meckling, 1976; Fama and
Jensen, 1983). But where the owner-managers part with a
portion of their ownership by selling some of the
enterprises’ shares to outsiders, conflict of interests can
arise. The potential problems associated with agency
theory in business may include:
(i) Information asymmetry- The problem that arises when
agents (managers) have information on the financial
circumstances and prospects of the business but
refuse to inform the principals (owners), or deliberately
misinform them (Schultz, Lubatkin, Dino and Bucholtz,
2001). A typical scenario was the collapse of Enron
due to the opportunistic behaviour of the company’s
agents (Carey, 2008).
(ii) Moral hazard- The problem that arises when the
agents deliberately take advantage of information
asymmetry to redistribute wealth to themselves at the
detriment of the principals (Ang, Cole and Lin, 2000).
For instance, the management of Enron
misrepresented information about the award of
salaries, insurance cover, perks and other rewards to
the executive members, with one executive receiving
a corporate jet as reward and a loan of $77 million
even when the US Law had banned loans by
companies to their executives.
(iii) Adverse selection- the problem that arises when
agents misrepresent the skills or abilities they bring to
the business (Roida and Sunarjanto, 2011). This could
result in sub-optimal wealth maximization of the
principals (Whouderr-Arthur, 2009). For example, a
large number of businesses in Nigeria are family-
based (SMEDAN, 2013). Also, Poza 2004, argues that
the most common reason for loss of productivity in
family owned businesses is the lack of proper human
resource management. Such businesses may be
forced to employ, promote or end employment for
close or extended family members.
Agency theory therefore holds that for management to do
their work well, they should be compensated and
monitored properly by the business owners. Monitoring
activities attracts costs called agency costs. The
magnitude of these costs is limited to the extent to which
the owners and delegated third parties, such as banks,
monitor the actions of the professional managers (Schultz
et al., 2001).
Signaling theory, according to Jianxin, Lan and Baosheng
(2003), holds a prominent position in a variety of
literatures, including small business financial
management. The signaling theory aims at resolving the
financing difficulty of firms by removing the information
asymmetry between the lender and the business (Brennan
and Alan, 1987). The theory states that cash flow between
the business and financial markets depends entirely on the
flow of information between the two entities.
This theory addresses the problems of adverse selection
and moral hazard caused by information asymmetry when
enterprises source for funds from the financial institutions
(Jianxin et al, 2003). Small businesses are known to be
more prone to the problem of information asymmetry than
bigger firms. They are disadvantageous in financial
disclosures and public reputation due to their weak
financial accounting system, and operating information not
open to the public (Ekpo et al, 2017). These make it difficult
for the financial institutions to learn about their operating
conditions. Also relevant is the pecking order theory or
framework (POF) which according to Chen (2014), is one
of the most influential theories of financial management.
The theory suggests that in sourcing for business finance,
enterprises should first utilize retained earnings, then
debts, followed by hybrid forms of finance such as
convertible loans. Externally issued equity with bankruptcy
costs, agency costs, and information asymmetry should be
considered as the last option. Empirical study by Chen
(2014) shows that 75 percent of small businesses made
capital structure decisions within pecking order framework.
Also, an earlier study by Whouderr-Arthur (2009), revealed
that POF is consistent with small business sectors
because they are owner-managed, and would not want to
dilute the ownership structure and control of their
businesses.
Managerial finance or financial management, as a
concept, can be viewed as the application of the finance
concepts and principles in the formulation of rational
financial decisions. It is one of the several functional areas

4. Growth Implications of Managerial Finance in Business: Empirical Evidence from Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria
Ekpo et al. 064
of management which significantly influence the
establishment, growth and sustainability of any business.
It is one of the basic organic functions which determine
whether business objectives will be achieved or not. It is a
function practiced by every organisations irrespective of
size and form.
Financial management is the managerial planning and
control of financial resources of a business to achieve the
objectives of the business. Financial management
decisions are sin-qua-non to all other organisational
decisions. The way the finance of a firm is managed affects
its performance. Pandey (2005), defines financial
management as the managerial activity which concerns
the planning and controlling of the firm’s financial
resources.
Financial management is concerned with all areas of
management, not only the sources and uses of funds in
the enterprises, but also the financial implications of
investment, production, marketing or personnel decisions,
and the total performance of the enterprise (Nguyen,
2001). In another perspective, McMahon, Holmes,
Hutchinson and Forsaith (1993), argued that modern
financial management involves planning, controlling and
decision making responsibilities; and embraces: (i) various
types and sources of finance an enterprise may employ,
how they may be accessed, and how to choose among
them; (ii) alternative ways in which finance raised may be
used in an enterprise, and how to select those that are
likely to prove most profitable; (iii) different means of
ensuring that finance entrusted to specific activities
realizes the anticipated returns. The general goal of
financial management is to maximize the financial wealth
of the business owners. This general goal can be viewed
in terms of two more specific objectives: Profitability and
liquidity.
The scope of financial management is broad because of
the closed relationship between finance and other basic
organic functions (Production, Marketing, and Human
Resources, etc.) performed by an organisation. Basically,
virtually all kinds of business transactions directly or
indirectly entail the procurement and utilization of funds.
For instance, sales promotion activities require outlays of
cash and therefore affect financial resources; whereas
recruitment and promotion of employees in organisations
are clearly the responsibilities of the personnel
department, but they require payment of wages, salaries
and other benefits and thus involve finance.
Growth of business, in the context of this paper, is viewed
in terms of increase in profitability, output, sales/turnover,
and number of employees as well as the business owners’
satisfaction in the production or distribution of goods and
services rendered by the business for profit over time.
Profitability is one of the most important objectives of
financial management because of the agency and
trusteeship role it performs in a business. Profitability
management requires attention to cost control, pricing
policy, sales volume, inventory management, and capital
expenditure. Due to the importance of profitability, Ekpo
and Mbobo (2016) among other researchers suggested
that small firms need to concentrate on profitability.
Output on the other hand, are goods and services
produced by an enterprise for sale. Hudson and Bourne
(2001) strongly recommend the use of output in enterprise
performance measurement because output data is
collected and reported more frequently, and outputs more
typically correspond to activities and functions being
directly controlled. Also relevant in growth performance
measurement is sales. Delmar, Davidson and Gartner
(2003) discussed the various performance measures and
suggested that if only one indicator had to be chosen as a
measure of firm’s growth, then the preferred measure
should be sales volume; sales figures are relatively easier
to obtain and reflect both short and long-term changes in
the firm.
The number of employees is the most widely used
measure of firms’ size and growth (Kellen, 2003). The
number of employees reflects how the internal process is
organized and adapts to changes in activity. Moreover,
employment is not sensitive to inflation or currency
exchange rates. Scholars agree that this variable is a
direct indicator of organizational complexity, and is
suitable for analyzing the managerial implications of
growth (Delmar, et al 2003). On the other hand,
satisfaction measure of business owners is the dimension
of non-financial performance.
Measuring how well the expectations of business owners
are met is an aspect of balanced and holistic performance
measurement approach that can provide critical insight
and guidance for action (Kaplan and Norton, 1996). The
literature has strongly recommended the use of multiple
performance measures (Alasadi and Abdelrahim, 2007
and Richard and Yip, 2008). Accordingly, this research
adopts a balanced scorecard approach, which requires a
balance between the use of financial and non-financial
measures to achieve strategic alignment.
Data and Methodology
Survey research design was adopted in the study. To
facilitate the collection and quantification of data, the
following variables were operationalized and measured in
the study (Table 1).
Table 1. Variables
Variables Symbol
Managerial
finance
functions
•Accounting Information System
•Financial Reporting and Analysis
•Working Capital Management
•Capital Budgeting Techniques
•Capital Structure Management
AIS
FRA
WCM
CBT
CSM
Growth of
business
•Profitability
•Output
•Sales/turnover
•Employment growth, and
•Owners’ satisfaction of business.
GoB

5. Growth Implications of Managerial Finance in Business: Empirical Evidence from Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria
World J. Econ. Fin. 065
We made use of data from an earlier study on the subject
‘growth performance vis-à-vis enterprise size: a study of
SMEs in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria’, in which data were
obtained through an in-depth examination of financial
records of enterprises, as well as face-to-face interviews
using an interview topic guide with the owner-mangers
whose businesses were listed in the 2013 MSME survey
conducted by SMEDAN. According to SMEDAN (2013),
there were 1,320,700 enterprises in Akwa Ibom State,
comprising 1,319,607 micro (accounting for 99.92%); 898
small (accounting for 0.07%) and 195 medium (accounting
for 0.01%). The number of enterprises was drawn in a two
stage sampling process. First, to ensure that the three
categories of businesses were proportionately
represented, and to account for the differences in sub-
categories characteristics, stratified sampling method was
adopted. Second, purposive random sampling method
was used to select 59 micro, 31 small and 15 medium
enterprises. In total, a sample of 105 enterprises were
selected for the study.
The survey instrument was subjected to validity and
reliability tests, which indicates a Cronbach alpha of 0.783,
confirming the reliability of the instrument, as shown in
Table 2. Nunnally (1994) suggested that a value for
Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient greater than 0.5 is
considered acceptable for internal consistency of the items
in the scale.
Table 2: Results of Reliability Test
Cronbach’s
Alpha
No. of Items Indication
0.783 6 Acceptable internal consistency
of items in the scale
Source: Survey data, 2017
Pearson’s Product Correlation Coefficient was adopted as
inferential statistics, to examine the relationship between
managerial finance functions of the enterprises and their
growth performance.
Empirical Results
First, to ensure accuracy following large number of sample
size, we tested one-to-one correlations among the
different dimensions of managerial finance and growth of
the enterprise via correlation analysis, using the Statistical
Package for Social Sciences (SPSS 17.0). The results are
presented in Table 3.
Table 3: Correlation Matrix
GoB AIS FRA WCM CBT CSM
GoB 1.000 0.242 0.260 0.158 0.145 0.344
AIS 0.242 1.000 0.384 0.430 0.357 0.207
FRA 0.260 0.384 1.000 0.658 0.534 0.477
WCM 0.158 0.430 0.658 1.000 0.589 0.430
CBT 0.145 0.357 0.589 0.589 1.000 0.506
CSM 0.344 0.207 0.477 0.430 0.506 1.000
Source: Survey data, 2017.
The general rule is that if a correlation coefficient between
any two variables in the Pearson’s correlation is less than
or equal 0.50, then a fair degree of relationship can be
inferred (Hair, Black, Anderson and Tatham, 2006).
From the results, all the correlation coefficients across the
managerial finance dimensions and growth are positively
correlated, but with varying levels of significance.
(i) Research Hypothesis One
H1O: There is no significant relationship between AIS
and GoB.
The value of the Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation
(PPMC) of 0.242 shows a positive linear relationship
between AIS and GoB (Table 3).
To confirm whether the correlation coefficient obtained is
indicative of a real relationship or attributed to chance, the
T-test results reveal that the relationship is significant at
5% or 95% level of confidence. The calculated T-value of
2.510 is greater than the critical or tabulated T-value of
1.984 at 0.05 significance level, and this falls within
acceptance region of the alternate hypothesis. We
therefore reject the null hypothesis and conclude that there
is a significant relationship between accounting
information system and growth of business.
(ii) Research Hypothesis Two
𝑯𝟐 𝟎: There is no significant relationship between FRA
and GoB.
The value of PPMC of 0.260 confirms a positive linear
relationship between FRA and GoB (Table 3).
The T-test results further reveal that the relationship is
significant at 5%. The calculated T-value of 2.733 is
greater than the critical or tabulated T-value of 1.984 at
0.05 significance level, and this falls within acceptance
region of the alternate hypothesis. We therefore reject the
null hypothesis and conclude that there is a significant
relationship between financial reporting and analysis and
growth of business.
(iii) Research Hypothesis Three
𝑯𝟑 𝟎: There is no significant relationship between WCM
and GoB.
The value of the PPMC of 0.158 confirms a positive
relationship between WCM and GoB (Table 3)
The calculated T-value of 1.624 is less than the critical or
tabulated T-value of 1.984 at 0.05 significance level, which
falls within the acceptance region of our null
hypothesis. We therefore accept the null hypothesis and
conclude that there is no significant relationship between
working capital management and growth of business.
(iv) Research Hypothesis Four
𝑯𝟒 𝟎: There is no significant relationship between CBT
and GoB

6. Growth Implications of Managerial Finance in Business: Empirical Evidence from Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria
Ekpo et al. 066
The value of the PPMC of 0.145 confirms a positive
relationship between CBT and GoB (Table 3).
The calculated T-value of 1.487 is less than the tabulated
T-value of 1.984 at 0.05 significance level, which falls
within the acceptance region of our null hypothesis. We
therefore accept the null hypothesis and conclude that
there is no significant relationship between capital
budgeting techniques and growth of business.
(v) Research Hypothesis Five
𝑯𝟓 𝟎: There is no significant relationship between CSM
and GoB
The value of PPMC of 0.260 confirms a positive linear
relationship between CSM and GoB (Table 3).
The T-test results reveal that the relationship is significant
at 5%. The calculated T-value of 3.960 is greater than the
tabulated T-value of 1.984 at 0.05 significance level, and
this falls within acceptance region of the alternate
hypothesis. We therefore reject the null hypothesis and
conclude that there is a significant relationship between
capital structure management and growth of business.
Table 4: Summary of Hypotheses testing
AIS FRA WCM CBT CSM
GoB 0.242 0.260 0.158 0.145 0.344
P-value 0.013 0.007 0.107 0.139 0.000
∝ −𝐿𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑙 0.050 0.050 0.050 0.050 0.050
𝑇𝑐𝑎𝑙 2.510 2.733 1.624 1.487 3.960
𝑇𝑡𝑎𝑏 1.984 1.984 1.984 1.984 1.984
Significance Yes Yes No No Yes
N 105 105 105 105 105
Source: Survey data, 2017.
On the whole, the summary results presented in Table 4
indicates that three dimensions of managerial finance
(accounting information system, financial reporting and
analysis and capital structure management) are
statistically significant with growth, and with correlation
coefficients of 0.240, 0.260 and 0.344 respectively.
However, working capital management and capital
budgeting techniques do not have significant correlations
(0.158 and 0.145 respectively). The non-significance of
working capital management and capital budgeting
techniques in relation to growth of the enterprises is not
surprising when one considers the diversity of working
capital management practices and capital budgeting
techniques utilized by the sampled enterprises as well as
their weak accounting and operating information systems.
Our findings support the arguments of Whouderr-Arthur
(2009) and Chen (2014) that the sources of finance and
the general effects of financial management vary since
organisations differ in practice and intent, and that even
within an enterprise different aspects of managerial
finance impact performance differently over time. The
results also lend credence to other empirical researches
on the subject such as (McMahon, Holmes, Hutchinson
and Forsaith, 1993 and Nguyen, 2001) as well as Ekpo,
Udoidem and Acha (2017) who found a causal relationship
between enterprise size and growth performance of
enterprises operating in Akwa Ibom State.
CONCLUSIONS AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS
The study was designed to analyse the relationship
between managerial finance functions and growth of
business in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Five dimensions of
managerial finance were identified to examine their
correlations with growth performance of the selected
enterprises.
The evidence gathered reveals that accounting
information system, financial reporting and analysis and
capital structure management are positively correlated
with growth, having correlation coefficients of 0.240, 0.260
and 0.344 respectively. On the other hand, working capital
management and capital budgeting techniques are found
to be insignificant in affecting growth, with correlation
coefficients of 0.158 and 0.145 respectively.
The correlation results suggest that although all
dimensions of managerial finance interrelate and affect
firms’ growth, generalized management style should be
avoided because each dimension is unique and affects an
enterprise differently. Overall, the empirical evidence from
the study is supportive of the commonly held opinion that
financial management is the key factor in the performance
of enterprises in different countries, including Nigeria. In
this wise, careless or generalized financial management
style would impair growth because financial resources are
delicate, and every aspect of their management is unique,
requiring particular attention to ensure long-term
sustainable growth of the enterprise.
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Accepted 3 August, 2017
Citation: Ekpo NB, Etukafia NI, Acha IA, Udoidem OJ,
Asogwa IE (2017). Growth Implications of Managerial
Finance in Business: Empirical Evidence from Akwa Ibom
State, Nigeria. World Journal of Economic and Finance.
3(1): 061-068.
Copyright: © 2017. Ekpo et al. This is an open-access
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