Budgetary Control Practices and Financial Accountability of Meru County Government in Kenya
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Date
2025-11
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Kenyatta University
Abstract
Meru County, like other counties in Kenya's devolved governance system, faces significant challenges in implementing required budget control guidelines and ensuring financial accountability. The Office of the Auditor-General's fiscal year 2022/2023 report reveals critical issues including irregular payment of Kshs. 9,160,000 for an undelivered motor vehicle, unjustified expenditure of Kshs. 71,637,894 on operating expenses, and irregular spending of Kshs. 9,590,800 on domestic travel violating National Treasury regulations. Persistent financial management issues from 2014 to 2023 suggest that existing interventions have been inadequate, creating a notable research gap in understanding how specific budgetary control practices impact financial accountability in Meru County. This study examined the effect of four key budgetary control practices (budget planning, feedback mechanisms, monitoring processes, and employee training) on financial accountability in Meru County, Kenya. The research was guided by Public Choice Theory addressing feedback mechanisms, Fiscal Federalism Theory underpinning budget planning, and New Public Financial Management Theory informing monitoring and training practices. Using a cross-sectional research design, data was collected from a stratified random sample of 80 respondents comprising Members of County Assembly, Public Accounts and Investment Committee members, Budget Committee members, and Office of the Auditor General representatives through structured questionnaires. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression analysis. Ethical considerations included obtaining authorizations from the university's research committee and NACOSTI, ensuring participant confidentiality through encrypted data storage, maintaining transparency through informed consent, and upholding academic integrity by properly acknowledging all sources. The findings revealed that budget planning (β=0.285, p=0.008), feedback mechanisms (β=0.312, p=0.005), and monitoring processes (β=0.338, p=0.014) significantly and positively influence financial accountability, while employee training showed no significant relationship (β=-0.026, p=0.846). Descriptive statistics indicated moderate implementation effectiveness, with below-average budget plan clarity, moderately useful feedback mechanisms, and infrequent monitoring activities. The study concludes that: first, budget planning significantly enhances financial accountability but requires improved clarity and comprehensiveness to maximize impact; second, budget feedback mechanisms effectively promote accountability but need redesigned channels for better accessibility and two-way communication; third, budget monitoring positively impacts accountability but suffers from implementation gaps requiring increased frequency and modern tools; fourth, employee training alone is insufficient for enhancing accountability without supportive organizational culture and follow-up mechanisms. The study recommends that Meru County enhance budget plan clarity through standardized formats, redesign feedback channels, increase monitoring frequency with digital systems, and restructure training programs with mentorship mechanisms. Policy actors including the Controller of Budget, Auditor General, and EACC should provide technical assistance, conduct evaluations, and establish complaint investigation systems. Future research should conduct comparative studies across multiple counties, employ longitudinal designs to track improvements, and examine moderating effects of organizational culture and political factors on budgetary control-accountability relationships within Kenya's devolution framework
Description
A Research Project Submitted to the School of Economics and Tourism, in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Award of the Master Degree in Business Administration (Finance) Kenyatta University, November 2025
Supervisor:
1.Fredrick Warui