Abstract:
Financial performance is a major concern for
the county governments because through
improved financial performance the county
governments are able to fulfill their obligation
of service delivery to the citizens. Hence,
adhering to the budgetary processes is
important in enhancing financial performance
at the county level. However, the county
governments in Kenya especially those in the
Western Region Economic Bloc (WREB) are
still encountering financial performance
challenges despite undertaking of the
budgetary processes. It is on this basis that
this paper explored the effect of budgetary
processes on the financial performance of the
WREB counties in Kenya. Specifically, the
paper examined the effect of budgetary
planning, budgetary implementation and
budgetary control and auditing on the
financial performance of the WREB counties
in Kenya. It also examined the combined
effect of budgetary planning, implementation
and control and auditing on the financial
performance on the financial performance of
the WREB counties. The study was anchored
on the theory of budgeting and adopted the
causal explanatory research design. The target
population was 191 budgeting officers,
accountants and internal auditors from 5
WREB counties in Kenya. Data was collected
using structured questionnaires and document
analysis and both the descriptive and
inferential statistics employed in data
analysis. The results showed that budgetary
planning, implementation and control and
auditing significantly affected the financial
performance of the WREB counties
(Beta=0.428; p=.002<0.05, Beta=0.324;
p=.000<0.05 and Beta=0.460; p=.003<0.05).
Moreover, the joint effect of budgetary
planning, implementation and control and
auditing on the financial performance of the
WREB counties was significant. It is
recommended that the WREB counties should
adhere to the provisions of the budgetary
processes to enhance their financial
performance
