Financial accounting education equips students with essential financial literacy, business management skills, and economic knowledge necessary for individual career development and national growth. Despite its importance, student performance in this subject remains concerning, attributed to various instructional and learning challenges in secondary education. This study investigates financial accounting instruction challenges in secondary schools in Offa Local Government Area, Kwara State, Nigeria. Specifically, the study aims to: examine whether the lack of teaching aids impedes the effective teaching of financial accounting; investigate how variations in school curricula affect the subject’s instruction; determine whether the unavailability of standard textbooks hinders teaching and learning; assess the influence of students’ attitudes on performance; evaluate the impact of teacher qualifications on financial accounting instruction. A descriptive survey design was employed, using a structured questionnaire administered to 160 teachers and students from eight selected schools in the study area. Chi-square statistical analysis was used to identify significant instructional barriers. The findings revealed that inadequate teaching aids, curriculum inconsistencies, scarcity of standard textbooks, students’ negative perceptions, and shortage of qualified accounting instructors significantly hinder effective teaching. Based on these results, the study recommends targeted government interventions, such as providing updated instructional materials, curriculum standardisation, supplying current textbooks to schools and libraries, teacher development programmes, and awareness campaigns, to enhance teaching effectiveness and learning outcomes. Ultimately, these interventions would improve financial accounting education quality at the secondary level, better prepare students for future professional and entrepreneurial roles, and support Nigeria’s broader economic development goals.