Effect of cash management automation on financial management in Meru County government

Abstract

Purpose: The main purpose of the study was to find out if ICT adoption has a significant effect on financial management in the Meru County Government. Effective public financial management has attracted the attention of many scholars in identifying the best practice and how to install fiscal disciplines. In search of good governance and sound financial management, the World Bank has been at the forefront in championing this aspect. Lack of effective financial management practices hinders effective service delivery. 
 Design/ Methodology/Approach: Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) theory is one of the models used to explain how technology is accepted by the users. A descriptive survey research design study was used. The population for this study is composed of the Meru county government staff. The sample size was 70 respondents in total, a questionnaire was used as the research tool whose validity and reliability was measured accordingly. Mean and regression analysis was computed when analyzing data.
 Findings: The findings established that Cash management automation enables county leadership to understand the true cost of service delivered by the county per activity; that Through Cash management automation, the county finance department is able to reconcile transactions data in real-timeOn Cash management automation the study concludes that successful cash management automation in any institution is essential due to difficulties that come with accessing credits whenever an organization is facing liquidity several constraints.
 Contribution to policy and practice: From the findings on cash management automation the study recommends that automation systems should be fully implemented as it increases cash management. For Meru county Government to realize growth, investment in technology should be made in order to enhance service delivery and transparency in cash management.
 Originality/Value: This study is the first of its kind to empirically explore cash management automation on financial management in Meru county government.