ABSTRACT
Bookkeeping in business operations are very important for controlling business activities and also for profit or loss determination. The failure of most businesses, especially sole proprietors within the first (5) five years of existence is partly attributed to the absence of bookkeeping of the business operation.Sole Proprietorship is a type of business owned and operated by one person. It is the oldest, commonest and the most popular form of business ownership in Ghana. It is popularity among other reasons has been as a result of the numerous advantages it has over other forms of business ownership.
A sole proprietor must know what he owes, what he owns, whether he earns profit or make losses for the running of the business. In relation to this, why do sole proprietors not see the need to keep proper books of accounts is the question one may ask?To find out the practice of bookkeeping among sole proprietors, a study was conducted to find out the relevance of bookkeeping in sole proprietorship under the topic “Relevance of bookkeeping in sole proprietorship: A case study of Tema West Municipality.The main objective of the research is to find out whether sole proprietors in Tema West Municipality keep books of accounts for their businesses.Based on the above objective, responses were obtained from the questionnaires that were administered, personal interviews and direct observations were also done.The findings among others included the fact that the National Board for Small Scale Industries is ironically not well known by the sole proprietors at Tema West Municipality.
Sole proprietors at the Tema West Municipality do not keep proper books of accounts.It is recommended that bookkeeping by sole proprietors must be encouraged in all aspects of their business operations and to strengthen them financially to make them attractive to graduates.The National Board for Small Scale Industries in Tema West Municipality must offer both financial and management advice to sole proprietors to enable them to continually be in business.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Sole Proprietorship is a type of business owned and operated by one person. It is the oldest, commonest and the most popular form of business ownership in Ghana. Its popularity among other reasons has been as a result of the numerous advantages it has over other forms of business ownership. Example of Sole Proprietorship is the kenkey seller. Sole Proprietorship is the easiest and the cheapest form of business unit to be established with few legal requirements. The owner enjoys all profit and he or she is also sure of his or her privacy since he or she is not under any obligation to publish his or her account for everybody to know the profit he or she is making.On the assumption of office in the year 2000, President J. A. Kuffour dubbed his presidency “the Golden age of Business” and under his executive authority derived from 1992 constitution, he announced the creation of a new ministry for private sector development (MPSD) to translate this vision into reality. (Daily Graphic 24th January 2000).
At a National workshop on private sector development held at Elmina during January 18th – 20th 2002, it was concluded that private sector development must be seen as a necessary response to global opportunities and threats. Increasingly, according to the document of the workshop, survival in the open market requires the ability to compete. A competitive private sector can take full advantage of opportunities to participate in international trade and finance, such as the United States African Growth and opportunities Act.