An assessment of internal controls and financial performance in public universities in Uganda, a case of Makerere university

Abstract

Due to the problem that Makerere university still struggles with Liquidity problems, misuse of institutional resources, which has led to loss of resources through fraud and outright theft by employees for not having proper internal control systems that could possibly prevent such losses, the researcher was motivated to assess internal controls and financial performance in public universities starting with Makerere University. The goals were to determine the strength of internal financial controls available in Ugandan public universities, to identify financial performance concerns in Ugandan public universities, and to provide ways to improve internal financial controls systems in Ugandan public universities. The study covered Makerere University's main campus in Kampala, and the research project spanned the years 2013 to 2021.The literature survey looked at research works conducted locally by different scholars in the world in the area. This provided a basis for the current study, by proposing how it will address the established gaps. The study was cross-sectional and adopted a descriptive survey design. The study was undertaken using the triangulation approach. The target population is 80 respondents at the university and the sample size is determined using Slovene’s formula hence the sample size of 72 respondents. The techniques that was used in conducting the study involved simple random and purposive sampling. The researcher employed a questionnaire as a key instrument for primary data collection, and data was edited, coded, classified, tabulated and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and MS Excel. Regarding the general employment of internal control systems at Makerere University the respondent understands the term internal control systems and Makerere University employs internal control systems. Makerere University understands the term internal control systems and employs them. Majority of internal control systems employed by Makerere University, categorized into Control environment, Information and communication, Control activities and Monitoring. Generally, Internal controls lead to proper financial performance at Makerere University. There are practical suitable strategies to improve internal financial controls systems in public universities in Uganda, starting with Makerere University