INTERNAL AUDIT INDEPENDENCE AND FINANCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY IN PUBLIC TECHNICAL AND VOCATIONAL TRAINING INSTITUTIONS IN WESTERN KENYA

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INTERNAL AUDIT INDEPENDENCE AND FINANCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY IN PUBLIC TECHNICAL AND VOCATIONAL TRAINING INSTITUTIONS IN WESTERN KENYA

Abstract: One of the essential internal controls that public technical and vocational training institutions utilize to manage their resources for the benefit of their stakeholders is internal audit independence. A report from the Auditor General has established numerous cases of misuse of public funds where institutions have failed to account for resources allocated to them from the public coffers. The purpose of the study was to establish the effect of internal audit independence on financial accountability of public Technical and Vocational Training Institutions in Western Kenya. Agency theory guided the study. A correlational research design was used. The study targeted a population of 336 respondents comprising of 24 Principals, 24 Board of Governors (BoG) Chairpersons, 24 Audit Committee Chairpersons, 72 internal auditors and 192 Finance officers from the 24 Public Technical and Vocational Training Institutions. Stratified random sampling was used to select 182 respondents. Questionnaires were used to collect Primary data and secondary data was obtained from audited annual reports and financial statements. Pilot study was conducted on The Kisumu and Kitale National Polytechnics. Validity was tested using factor analysiss. Reliability was tested with Cronbach’s alpha. Data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Descriptive statistics included Mean, Median, Standard Deviation and Variance while Inferential Statistics included Correlational and Multiple Linear Regression. Data was presented using tables. Multiple regression model showed that there is a positive and significant influence of internal audit independence on financial accountability with a coefficient of 0.131. The study showed that changes in internal audit independence causes 61.0% variation in financial accountability. Government and policy makers may benefit from the study findings as they may be able to identify loopholes of internal audit that need to be sealed. The findings may also help policy makers to formulate policies that may help in minimizing misuse of funds in organizations. The study concluded that internal audit independence positively and significantly affect financial accountability. It is recommended that the management of technical institutions should not interfere with functions of the internal auditors. It is also recommended that internal auditors should be allowed to access all the relevant information and explanations that will assist them arrive at an objective opinion from which vibrant decisions will be made for the good of our public entities.

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