Control Environment and Financial Accountability: An Analysis of the Kenyan National Public Secondary Schools

Abstract

The study sought to evaluate the effect of control environment on financial accountability in national public secondary school in Kenya. The study was guided by; Agency theory, Fraud triangle theory and accountability theory. Survey research design was used on a population of 309 consisting of; 103 principals, 103 bursars, 103 BOM chairs. Purposive and simple random sampling were used to select principals, bursars and BOM chair. Primary data was collected by use of questionnaires, while secondary data was collected through analysis of audited financial statements. Reliability of the research instruments was tested through Cronbach's Alpha. Factor analysis was used to assess construct validity. Simple linear regression was used to establish the relationship between control environment and financial accountability. The results for the regression model showed an R-square of 0. 344.The Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) had an F-statistic of 18.360 with a p-value of 0.000. The regression coefficient estimate of control environment was (β =0.570, Z=4.280, p-value = 0.000). It was concluded that there exists a positive and significant relationship between control environment and financial accountability in national public secondary schools in Kenya. It was recommended that control environment be improved through, selecting BOM that are committed and have accounting knowledge, enforcing a positive management philosophy for efficiency, and improving integrity and ethical values of BOM.