An Assessment of Financial Reporting and Auditing Practices in County Governments of Kenya

Abstract

This paper assesses the financial reporting and auditing practices in the County Governments in Kenya. The paper reviews available literature on financial reporting and auditing practices in the Counties. The paper finds weak financial and auditing practices as decried in the Auditor General’s reports since the county governments became operational in 2013. It emerged that the counties kept incomplete financial reports which did not reflect the true financial positions of the counties and were unreliable for proper auditing. The paper recommends the need for county leadership to hire qualified finance and accounting staff to ensure proper financial reporting and auditing in the counties. The paper also recommends the need to strengthen the sanction enforcement mechanism for those found to be involved in financial malpractices. The paper suggests the adoption of new media channels such as Facebook and Twitter in disseminating as well as discussing the financial and audit reports.