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Effect of Financial Literacy Instruction on Personal Financial Management Skills among Accounting Education Students in Nigerian Universities

Abstract

Financial literacy is an important component of accounting education because students require the knowledge and skills to make informed decisions concerning income, expenditure, saving, borrowing, investment, and other personal financial matters. Accounting education students are expected to possess financial knowledge that enables them to apply accounting and financial principles to their personal financial decisions. However, possessing academic knowledge of accounting does not necessarily guarantee that students can effectively manage their personal finances, particularly where financial literacy is not explicitly connected to everyday financial decision-making. Financial Literacy Instruction provides students with structured learning experiences that develop their understanding of budgeting, saving, credit management, debt, investment, financial planning, risk management, and responsible financial behaviour. Against this background, this study investigates the effect of financial literacy instruction on personal financial management skills among accounting education students in Nigerian universities. The study will be anchored on Financial Literacy Theory, Social Learning Theory, and Experiential Learning Theory. Financial Literacy Theory emphasizes the importance of financial knowledge and understanding in enabling individuals to make informed financial decisions and manage financial resources effectively. Social Learning Theory explains how financial attitudes and behaviours may be developed through observation, interaction, modelling, reinforcement, and exposure to financial practices. Experiential Learning Theory emphasizes learning through concrete experiences, reflection, conceptualization, and active experimentation, providing a suitable framework for practical financial literacy instruction. Collectively, these theoretical perspectives provide a suitable framework for explaining how financial literacy instruction may influence students' personal financial management skills. The study will adopt a quantitative quasi-experimental or analytical cross-sectional research design. The study population will comprise undergraduate accounting education students enrolled in selected public and private universities across Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique will be used to select geopolitical zones, states, universities, faculties or departments, levels of study, and eligible accounting education students. Financial literacy instruction will be assessed using indicators such as exposure to financial literacy lessons, budgeting instruction, savings education, credit management, debt management, investment education, financial planning, insurance and risk management, taxation awareness, digital financial services, financial fraud awareness, financial goal-setting, compound interest concepts, financial decision-making exercises, practical budgeting activities, financial case studies, simulations, classroom discussions, technology-supported financial learning, lecturer guidance, feedback, and opportunities for practical application. Students' personal financial management skills will be assessed using indicators such as personal budgeting, income management, expenditure control, saving practices, emergency-fund planning, debt management, responsible credit use, investment decision-making, financial goal-setting, financial record keeping, comparison of financial alternatives, understanding of interest and borrowing costs, risk management, financial planning, digital financial management, avoidance of unnecessary expenditure, evaluation of financial information, and ability to make informed personal financial decisions. Data will be collected using structured questionnaires, standardized financial literacy tests, personal financial management skills assessments, budgeting tasks, financial decision-making scenarios, practical case studies, competency-based assessment rubrics, observation checklists, and pre-test and post-test assessments where a quasi-experimental design is adopted. Descriptive statistics will be used to summarize students' demographic and academic characteristics, financial literacy learning experiences, financial knowledge, and personal financial management skills. Inferential statistical techniques, including chi-square tests, paired and independent t-tests, correlation analysis, and multiple regression analysis where appropriate, will be used to determine the effect of financial literacy instruction on students' personal financial management skills. Where a quasi-experimental design is adopted, personal financial management skill scores before and after exposure to financial literacy instruction may be compared with those of a comparison group receiving conventional accounting instruction without structured financial literacy activities to determine changes associated with the intervention. Diagnostic tests will also be conducted to assess the reliability, validity, and robustness of the findings. The study is expected to find that financial literacy instruction has a significant positive effect on personal financial management skills among accounting education students in Nigerian universities. Students exposed to structured and practical financial literacy instruction are expected to demonstrate stronger abilities to prepare and follow personal budgets, manage income and expenditure, save regularly, evaluate borrowing options, manage debt, make informed investment decisions, set financial goals, and plan for future financial needs than students with limited exposure to financial literacy education. Practical budgeting exercises may help students understand how to allocate limited income among essential and discretionary expenses and develop better expenditure-control habits. Instruction on savings, interest, credit, and debt may improve students' ability to evaluate borrowing costs and avoid unsustainable financial obligations. Exposure to investment and risk-management activities may strengthen students' ability to evaluate financial alternatives and make informed decisions about personal wealth accumulation. Digital financial literacy activities may further improve students' ability to use electronic banking and other digital financial services safely and effectively. However, limited income, peer influence, consumer pressures, inadequate access to reliable financial information, poor financial habits, limited practical exposure, and students' reluctance to change established financial behaviours may reduce the effectiveness of financial literacy instruction. The study therefore expects practical, continuous, relevant, and behaviour-oriented financial literacy instruction to contribute significantly to improved personal financial management skills among accounting education students in Nigerian universities. The study is expected to contribute to the literature on financial literacy instruction, personal financial management skills, accounting education, financial education, financial literacy, experiential learning, social learning, financial decision-making, budgeting education, savings behaviour, debt management, investment literacy, digital financial literacy, and higher education in Nigeria. The findings will provide useful information to the National Universities Commission, universities, accounting education departments, accounting educators, financial institutions, financial literacy organizations, professional accounting bodies, curriculum developers, and policymakers regarding strategies for strengthening students' financial capabilities. The study will also provide evidence-based recommendations for integrating financial literacy instruction into accounting education programmes, increasing practical budgeting and financial decision-making activities, strengthening students' knowledge of savings, credit, debt, investment, and financial risk management, incorporating digital financial literacy into classroom instruction, developing realistic personal finance case studies and simulations, training accounting educators in practical financial education methods, providing continuous financial guidance and feedback, and equipping accounting education students with the personal financial management skills required for responsible financial decision-making in Nigeria.

Keywords: Financial literacy instruction, personal financial management skills, accounting education students, financial education, budgeting, savings, debt management, investment literacy, financial decision-making, digital financial literacy, financial planning, Nigerian universities, Nigeria.