The Effects of Financial Record Keeping on Financial Performance of Development Groups in Rural Areas of Western Uganda

Abstract

Good financial recordkeeping enables business organizations to plan properly and also check for misappropriations of resources. This manuscript expounds a study on financial record keeping as an integral part of managing development groups’ business environment. The study was carried out in three rural districts of Rubirizi, Kasese and Rukungiri in Western Uganda with the aim of determining the effects of financial record keeping on financial performance of Development groups. A total of 99 respondents were obtained from 33 development groups. In every development group, three leaders i.e. the Chairperson, Treasurer and Secretary were interviewed. Data were entered in Epi data 3.1 and descriptive and correlational analyses were done using SPSS version 21. Using the Likert scale with five categories from strongly agree to strongly disagree, a mean value of 3.5 indicated a strong agreement to the questions asked. The mean value (4.32) on access to information implied that when members have access to information; transparency and accountability are ensured. Findings indicated that 67 (67.7%) knew the type of financial books recognized by international accounting standards board (IASB). 36 (36.4%) respondents reported keeping money in boxes while 22 (22.2%) kept money in the bank. Findings revealed a significant positive relationship between the financial record keeping and financial performance (r=0.297**, P>0.05). Notwithstanding the above findings, there is need to train group leaders in financial recordkeeping.