American Journal of Industrial and Business Management, 2014, 4, 246-257 Published Online May 2014 in SciRes. http://www.scirp.org/journal/ajibm http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/ajibm.2014.45032 How to cite this paper: Umeji, A.U. and Obi, C.A. (2014) Cost Accounting Skills Needs of Small Business Operators. Ameri- can Journal of Industrial and Business Management, 4, 246-257. http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/ajibm.2014.45032 Cost Accounting Skills Needs of Small Business Operators Anthonia Uju Umeji, Chiaka Augusta Obi Department of Vocational Teacher Education, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria Email: anthonia.umeji@unn.edu.ng Received 18 February 2014; revised 18 March 2014; accepted 30 March 2014 Copyright © 2014 by authors and Scientific Research Publishing Inc. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International License (CC BY). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Abstract The major purpose of the study was to determine the record-keeping, inventory control and price determination skills needs of small business operators in Anambra State. Three research ques- tions and two null hypotheses were used to attain this purpose. A descriptive survey research de- sign was adopted in the study which involved 280 registered small business operators in the state. Due to the manageable size of the population, all the 280 registered small business operators were surveyed. Therefore there was no sampling. Data were collected with the help of three research assistants using structured Cost Accounting Skills Needs (CASNs) questionnaire with 43-item statements. The questionnaire was divided into four sections (A - D). Section A was used to obtain the personal data of the respondents. Sections B, C and D carried a bipolar scale of perceived im- portance and expressed possession to obtain the respondents’ ratings of the skills (record-keep- ing, inventory control and price determination skills). The instrument was validated by three ex- perts. Cronbach Alpha reliability technique was used to determine the internal consistency of the instrument. Reliability coefficient of 0.78, 0.83 and 0.75 were obtained for record-keeping, inven- tory control and price determination skills respectively. Data from 269 copies returned were used for data analysis. Analysis was done using mean and correlated t-test at 0.05 level of significance to answer the research questions while analysis of variance was used to test the two null hy- potheses. The study found that record-keeping, inventory control and price determination skills were perceived to be very important by the operators, but the levels of possession were still below expectation. Based on these findings, the study recommended that a training programme be mounted for small business operators in the state on record-keeping and inventory control skills needed for business operation. Keywords Cost Accounting, Record-Keeping, Inventory Control, Price Determination