USE OF IFMIS IN BUDGETARY CONTROLS AND FINANCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY IN COUNTY GOVERNMENTS IN WESTERN KENYA

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of the use of IFMIS in budgetary controls on the financial accountability of county Governments in Western Kenya. The study adopted a correlational research design. Primary data was collected using questionnaires. The study target population was 1110 county staff comprising Cabinet executive officers, IFMIS directors, finance staff, revenue officers, and planning and procurement staff. Simple random sampling was used to select 294 respondents. Reliability was tested through Cronbach Alpha, validity was tested through expert analysis and principal component factor analysis. SPSS was used to analyze descriptive and inferential statistics. Descriptive statistics consisted of frequencies. Inferential statistics consisted of Binary logistic regression analysis. Cox & Snell R Square was established as 0.699. Wald statistic was significant with p values of 0.19. Correlation analysis showed r = of 0.814. The binary logistic regression coefficient was β = 2.049, p-value .019 and Exp (β)= 7.76 for budgetary controls. It was recommended that the implementation of IFMIS should be strengthened and regularly reviewed to identify loopholes that still exist that reduce effectiveness. This would improve fiscal discipline by a very high percentage as shown by the odds ratio of budgetary controls which is greater than one. The government should enforce the use of IFMIS in budgetary controls. This will lead to minimal budget variance and budget deficits. Better ways that can make IFMIS adhered to in budgeting should therefore be enforced this will improve financial accountability as evidenced by the odd ratio of budgetary controls. JEL: G21; G29; G38 Article visualizations: