Treasury Single Account (TSA) Implementation: Enhancing Transparency and Fiscal Discipline in Public Finance

Abstract

In 2015, Nigeria had a major public financial management reform, called the Treasury Single Account (TSA), which focuses on the transparency and the discipline of fiscal behaviour. The present study was conducted based on descriptive survey design and the use of TSA was empirically assessed. A total of 285 accounting and finance officers from 12 federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) were used for obtaining primary data using structured questionnaires. Descriptive statistical analysis, chi- square test and multiple regression analysis were used to analyse the data. The findings showed that there was a significant positive effect of the implementation of TSA on transparency (χ² = 78.642; p < 0.001) and fiscal discipline (β = 0.648; p < 0.001) with the variation in fiscal discipline being explained by 61.5%. Despite that, there are still some issues so far not resolved like poor infrastructure in Information and Communication Technology and partial compliance. The study, suggests that the reform of TSA is effective when optimally used to strengthen public finance management.