The Effect of Electronic Reporting on Financial Control in Public Secondary Schools in Narok County, Kenya

Abstract

A computerized accounting system involves the computerization of accounting information which is established in order to facilitate decision making. Financial controls are at the very core of resource management and operational efficiency in any organization. The overall objective of this study was to determine the effect of electronic reporting on financial control in public secondary schools in Narok county. The study used a descriptive survey design. The study targeted a population of 656 accounting officers in public secondary schools in Narok county. The study used stratified random sampling and obtained a sample size of 240. Data was collected using a questionnaire. The questionnaire was tested for validity and reliability to ensure that it provided the data that was required for the study. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics for frequency and percentages, Pearson correlation analysis and simple linear regression analysis to summarize and classify data, to establish the relationship between the variables and to determine the strength of association between the variables respectively. On the effect of electronic reporting on the financial control in public secondary schools in Narok county, the majority of the respondents agreed that it had an effect on financial control. The effect was statistically significant when tested using Pearson correlation (r = 0.621; p-value = 0.000). The hypothesis was tested using t-values, where the null hypothesis was rejected based on the t-value (11.506) which was greater than the critical tvalues. The study therefore concluded that public secondary schools that seek to enhance their financial control should embrace electronic reporting as in enhances transparency and accurate reporting.