1.1 Introduction
Cooperative society is a voluntary association of persons with a common need who come together and pulls their resources together to form a capital base necessary for their members. It has been long being a human characteristics to form association to provide essential commodities shelters employment and other forms of mutual support, mutual benefits derivable by families and individuals working together at harvest or other agreed times control be seen in many communities around the world being a way to recognize manpower to achieve a particular purpose for example building houses, digging wells or other communal facilities.
As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Research hypothesis and questions, Limitations of the Study and Definition of technical terms.
1.2 Background of Study
Today, this organization has been noted a having become one of the fastest and largest growing cooperative society that has continued to empower its members to alleviate their suffering. Therefore, this research would examine the activities of this people was carefully and point out the impacts they have made in helping members who are workers of the company to improve their perception about work and propel them to give in their best thereby yielding greater productivity in the company.
The idea of forming a thrift and credit cooperative society to help its members to obtain credit and other monetary incentives is a step towards human capital empowerment and assistance. Nigeria Bottling Company Owerri thrift and credit cooperative society has been a cooperative with the passion of assisting its members to alleviate poverty and improve their standard of living through credit grants. The cooperative has been in existence for over 15 years and has operated with a strong success story. It was formed by a group staff in the Nigeria Bottling Company Owerri plant to assist its members. The idea is a big vision of poverty alleviation. The effect of poverty eradication program should be recommended and organizing the members into self help natures like the thrift and credit cooperative society, as a way of looking forward which is in consonance with government policies and programs is a welcome development.
Membership is open to the resident of a particular locality and it is society that one agree to join nobody persuade anybody to join, this is so because it is the society that will help to achieve people common needs. Individuals always like to associate in as much as association will bring about improvement in their economic activities or such association as may served as a stepping stone in achieving of once desire of started goals. In cooperative individuals usually come in with their personal objective and such objective and such objective must be give to that of organization. Experience shows that cooperative organization are formed by lower and middle income earners with an aim of uplifting their standard of living.
As many people have said that the formation of cooperative is for poor people not for rich, it is true statement because no comfortable person will like to join association of pulling resources together. It is only for those who have common needs that can join this association in order to work collectively to achieve such needs which would not have been easily achieved by individuals.
Therefore, in Nigeria where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to know the Fraud Detection and Control in Co-operative Thrift and Credit Societies.
1.3 Statement of Problems
Despite of internal control mechanism put place by financial institution and effort to deflect fraud and eliminate before and after its occurrence, there are still incident of fraud in cooperative thrift and credit societies, bank and other financial institution and this has become a major problem of those institution especially to cooperative thrift and credit societies. This problem of fraud affected the activities and operation of the cooperative thrift and credit societies.
1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study
The aim of the study is to examine the Fraud Detection and Control in Co-operative Thrift and Credit Societies using any Selected Credit Co-operative Societies in Ahiazu Mbaise LGA, Imo State as a case study. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows:
- To determine the cause of fraud in cooperative thrift and credit society.
- To identify the prevalent fraud in cooperative thrift and credit societies.
- To provide solution on how fraud can be control in cooperative thrift and credit societies.
- To identify how to control fraud in cooperative thrift and credit societies.
1.5 Research Questions
The study came up with research questions so as to be able to ascertain the above stated objectives. The specific research questions for the study are stated below as follows:
- What are the possible causes of fraud in cooperative thrift and credit societies?
- What is the kind of fraud prevalent in cooperative thrift and credit societies, especially your societies?
- How can this prevalent fraud are controlled.
- What suitable solution could be applied to control fraud in cooperative thrift and credit societies?
1.6 Research Hypothesis
In order to pursue the objective of this study, the following generalized statements have been designed to guide and aids in obtaining the result for the experiment to be conducted. For this work, the null hypothesis will be represented with H0 while the alternative hypothesis will be represented with hypothesis H1.
Hypothesis One
- H0: Credit Cooperative Society does not detect and control fraud significantly in cooperative thrift and credit societies
- H1: Credit Cooperative Society detects and control fraud significantly in cooperative thrift and credit societies
Hypothesis Two
- H0: Fraud detection and control is not a major strategy in cooperative thrift and credit societies
- H1: Fraud detection and control is a major strategy in cooperative thrift and credit societies
1.7 Significance of Study
This research work that is done under the case study of selection credit cooperative in Ahiazu Mbaise will enable to reader to know the relevance of CTCS. Also the significance of CTCS decision to the workers, however the project work will serves as a piratical fulfillment of the condition for the award of Higher National Diploma (HND) in Cooperative Economics and Management and with be of economics benefit will succeed in the throwing a hot of light in the subject matter and in packing the conscience of all who have on assume responsibility on CTCS. The result of this research work can be applied to solve problem in both the public and private sectors.
1.8 Scope of Study
The study focuses on the Fraud Detection and Control in Co-operative Thrift and Credit Societies using any Selected Credit Co-operative Societies in Ahiazu Mbaise LGA, Imo State as a case study.
1.9 Limitations of the Study
During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:
- Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
- Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
- Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
- Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).
1.10 Definition Of Terms
Fraud: This means something that constitutes criminal deception, some one who is not what he/she pretend he is legal terms fraud international misrepresentation made knowing, with the intention to deceive all.
Credit: David W. pearle defines credit as financing directly and indirectly the lending is direct when a lending society, bank etc. Extends an overdraft facility to a customer or member who is a trader producers or consumer shop supplies goods on credit.
Thrift: The oxford English dictionaries define thrift as the economical management of resources, the habit of saving contently.
Credit Cooperative Society: This credit society helped a member in difficulty to narrow money from his society and attends to his need and for him to pay back later. It also helps for social or economic purpose to attain his goals.
Detection: This is the process of discovering or notices something that is not easy to see or hear.
Control: This means power to make decision about how an organization is run. It is the act of restricting limiting of managing something.
