Abstract:
Financial Management deals with collection, concentration and disbursement of finances
including measuring the level of liquidity, managing the cash balance and short term
investments. Successful financial management involves not only avoiding insolvency but also
reducing days in accounts receivables. Schools receive funds from many sources including
free secondary education. It is therefore recommendable that public funds be managed
effectively and used for the intended purpose. This study was conducted to evaluate the
factors affecting financial management practices of public secondary schools in Embu West
Sub -County, Kenya. The specific objective of this study was to find out the extent to which
Board of Management practices, internal control system, budget participation and Principal’s
management skills affect financial management practices in public secondary schools. The
researcher used descriptive study design to accomplish the research objective. Embu West
Sub-County has 31 Secondary Schools and 15 schools were chosen randomly to participate in
the study. The respondents of the study were School Principals, Deputy Principal, Bursars and
Accounts clerks. The study therefore used a sample size of 60 respondents. Questionnaires
were used to acquire data from the respondents. Cronbach’s alpha technique was used to test
reliability. A multiple regression model was used to test the relationship between the study
variables. Simple random sampling was used to select the sample size. Primary data was
collected to achieve the objective of the study. The data collected was analyzed using
descriptive technique with the help of statistical package for social science (SPSS) program.
Data was presented in tables and charts and interpretations made based on the research
objectives. Conclusions and recommendations were drawn based on the analysis and
interpretation of data collected from the respondents. The researcher suggested further
research by the future researchers on factors affecting financial management practices in
private schools and other counties.
