DOWNLOAD THE COMPLETE PROJECT

8 Users found this project useful

Effect of Financial Mentoring on Students’ Investment Planning Skills among Accounting Education Students in Nigeria

Abstract

Investment planning is an important financial competency for Accounting Education students because it involves the ability to evaluate financial opportunities, assess investment alternatives, allocate available funds, consider risk and return, and make informed long-term financial decisions. Accounting Education students require practical financial knowledge that extends beyond traditional accounting procedures to include personal financial planning, investment evaluation, savings decisions, and responsible wealth management. However, limited exposure to financial guidance and practical investment-planning activities may restrict students’ ability to make informed investment decisions. Financial mentoring provides an opportunity for students to receive structured guidance, practical advice, financial information, role modelling, feedback, and support from individuals with relevant financial knowledge and experience. Such mentoring may strengthen students’ understanding of investment alternatives and improve their ability to develop appropriate investment plans. Against this background, this study investigates the effect of Financial Mentoring on students’ investment planning skills among Accounting Education students in Nigeria. The study will be anchored on Social Learning Theory, Experiential Learning Theory, and Human Capital Theory. Social Learning Theory explains how students may develop financial competencies through observation, modelling, interaction, feedback, and guidance from experienced mentors. Experiential Learning Theory emphasizes the development of practical knowledge through experience, reflection, conceptualization, and application of financial concepts to realistic investment situations. Human Capital Theory explains how investment in financial knowledge, skills, and competencies can improve students’ decision-making ability, productivity, employability, and capacity for effective financial management. Collectively, these theoretical perspectives provide a suitable framework for explaining how Financial Mentoring may influence students’ investment planning skills. The study will adopt a quantitative quasi-experimental research design. The population will comprise Accounting Education students enrolled in selected Nigerian universities and polytechnics. A multistage sampling technique will be used to select institutions, departments, levels of study, classes, and eligible students. Data will be collected using structured questionnaires, investment planning skills assessment scales, financial knowledge tests, investment-planning tasks, simulated investment scenarios, practical performance rubrics, mentoring participation records, and pre-test and post-test assessments. Financial Mentoring will be assessed using indicators such as frequency of mentoring sessions, duration of mentoring, mentor accessibility, financial goal-setting guidance, savings guidance, investment education, investment-option explanation, risk-assessment guidance, return assessment, financial-market information, budgeting guidance, portfolio-planning guidance, asset-allocation guidance, diversification guidance, investment monitoring, investment review, financial-information evaluation, financial-record interpretation, decision-making guidance, scenario analysis, case-study discussions, practical investment exercises, mentor feedback, mentor support, financial communication, ethical financial guidance, responsible investment awareness, financial-literacy activities, investment research activities, and individualized financial guidance. Students’ investment planning skills will be assessed using indicators such as financial goal identification, short-term investment planning, medium-term investment planning, long-term investment planning, investment objective formulation, savings planning, investment-budget preparation, disposable-income assessment, investment-capital determination, investment-option identification, investment-alternative comparison, risk identification, risk assessment, risk tolerance assessment, expected-return evaluation, return comparison, risk-return analysis, investment-horizon determination, liquidity assessment, investment-cost assessment, diversification planning, portfolio allocation, asset-allocation decisions, investment-selection skills, financial-information search, financial-information evaluation, investment-performance assessment, investment monitoring, portfolio review, investment adjustment, financial-scenario analysis, opportunity-cost assessment, inflation consideration, interest-rate consideration, financial-market awareness, investment-timing consideration, investment-record keeping, investment-documentation, investment-plan preparation, investment-plan evaluation, financial decision-making, investment-risk management, and overall investment planning competence. Descriptive statistics will be used to summarize students’ demographic and academic characteristics, exposure to Financial Mentoring, financial knowledge, and investment planning skill levels. Inferential statistical techniques, including paired and independent t-tests, analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), correlation analysis, and multiple regression analysis where appropriate, will be used to determine the effect of Financial Mentoring on students’ investment planning skills. Where a quasi-experimental design is adopted, investment planning skill scores before and after participation in Financial Mentoring may be compared with those of a control group receiving conventional financial instruction 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 Mentoring has a significant positive effect on students’ investment planning skills among Accounting Education students in Nigeria. Students exposed to structured Financial Mentoring are expected to demonstrate improved ability to establish financial goals, evaluate investment alternatives, assess risk and return, allocate funds, develop investment plans, and monitor investment decisions. Financial goal-setting guidance may improve students’ ability to establish realistic investment objectives. Savings guidance may strengthen students’ understanding of the relationship between savings and investment planning. Investment education may improve students’ knowledge of different investment opportunities. Investment-option explanation may strengthen students’ ability to compare available alternatives. Risk-assessment guidance may improve students’ ability to identify and evaluate investment risks. Return-assessment activities may strengthen students’ understanding of expected investment returns. Financial-market information may improve students’ awareness of factors affecting investment decisions. Budgeting guidance may help students determine the amount of money available for investment. Portfolio-planning guidance may improve students’ ability to organize different investments according to their financial objectives. Asset-allocation guidance may strengthen students’ ability to distribute available funds across appropriate investment alternatives. Diversification guidance may improve students’ understanding of reducing concentration risk through appropriate allocation of investments. Investment-monitoring activities may strengthen students’ ability to evaluate investment performance over time. Investment-review activities may improve students’ ability to determine whether existing investment plans remain appropriate. Financial-information evaluation may strengthen students’ ability to distinguish relevant and reliable investment information from misleading financial claims. Decision-making guidance may improve students’ ability to make informed investment choices. Scenario-analysis activities may expose students to realistic financial situations and strengthen their ability to evaluate alternative investment decisions. Case-study discussions may improve students’ ability to apply financial concepts to practical investment problems. Practical investment exercises may strengthen students’ confidence and ability to develop investment plans. Mentor feedback may help students identify weaknesses in their financial decisions and improve their planning strategies. Individualized financial guidance may enable students to receive advice that reflects their financial circumstances, objectives, and investment preferences. Ethical financial guidance may strengthen students’ awareness of responsible and transparent investment practices. Financial-literacy activities may improve students’ understanding of basic investment concepts. Investment research activities may strengthen students’ ability to gather and evaluate information before making investment decisions. However, the effectiveness of Financial Mentoring may be constrained by limited availability of qualified financial mentors, inadequate mentoring programmes, insufficient financial education resources, limited access to reliable investment information, large student populations, inadequate institutional support, irregular mentoring sessions, limited mentor-student interaction, students’ low financial knowledge, financial constraints, limited practical investment opportunities, misinformation from informal sources, and inadequate integration of investment planning into Accounting Education curricula. The study therefore expects structured, accessible, practical, ethical, and adequately supervised Financial Mentoring to contribute significantly to improved investment planning skills among Accounting Education students in Nigeria. The study is expected to contribute to the literature on Financial Mentoring, investment planning skills, Social Learning Theory, Experiential Learning Theory, Human Capital Theory, accounting education, financial education, financial literacy, personal financial management, investment decision-making, savings planning, investment alternatives, risk assessment, return evaluation, portfolio planning, asset allocation, diversification, investment monitoring, financial information evaluation, financial decision-making, practical financial education, workplace readiness, employability skills, professional competence, Accounting Education students, Nigerian universities, Nigerian polytechnics, and Accounting Education in Nigeria. The findings will provide useful information to the National Universities Commission, National Board for Technical Education, university and polytechnic administrators, Accounting Education departments, accounting educators, financial educators, financial institutions, investment professionals, professional accounting bodies, employers, development partners, and policymakers regarding strategies for strengthening students’ practical financial competencies. The study will also provide evidence-based recommendations for integrating Financial Mentoring into Accounting Education programmes, establishing structured student-mentor programmes, providing practical investment-planning activities, improving students’ access to reliable financial information, strengthening investment-risk and return assessment skills, incorporating portfolio-planning and diversification activities into financial education, providing repeated mentoring and feedback, and improving students’ preparedness for responsible personal and professional financial decision-making in Nigeria.

Keywords: Financial Mentoring, investment planning skills, financial education, financial literacy, investment planning, investment decision-making, risk assessment, return evaluation, portfolio planning, asset allocation, diversification, savings planning, financial management, practical financial education, Accounting Education students, Nigerian universities, Nigerian polytechnics, Nigeria.