Abstract

This study was about monitoring and financial accountability in South Nyanza County Governments, Kenya. The county governments have continued to struggle for liquidity, efficient accountability for financial resources and timely financial reporting as part of internal control procedures. The study adopted descriptive cross sectional and correlational designs with both quantitative and qualitative approaches. From a total population of 2066 a sample size of 335 respondents was obtained using Slovene’s formula. Data were collected using questionnaires and interview guide. Quantitative data was analyzed using Means and standard deviations, Pearson linear correlation coefficient and regression analysis. Qualitative data analysis was done using narrative and thematic analysis. The results point out that there is a positive and significant relationship between monitoring and financial accountability. The magnitude of the beta suggested that monitoring positively and significantly influenced financial accountability (β = 0.629, t=13.443 and p = 0.000). This suggests that a one-unit increase or improvement in monitoring will bring a 0.629 increases or improvement in financial accountability, leaving other factors constant. The study concluded that there is relationship between monitoring and financial accountability. As a matter of recommendation, this study suggests that monitoring should be part and parcel of day-to-day operations of all County governments in Kenya.