Factors Affecting the Functions of the Kano State Ministry of Finance: Implications for Financial Control

Abstract

Financial control is important in government not only in periods of prosperity when revenue inflows are substantial, but also in times of austerity when the public purse is experiencing a cash crunch. Given the recent global economic meltdown that brought about reduced incomes to the government of the federation, and consequently to state and local governments, the Kano State Government expressed concern over its dependence on federation account revenues and was geared towards exploiting internally generated revenues as means for achieving self-reliance and fiscal sustainability. This exploratory study set out to survey factors that affect the work of Kano State Ministry of Finance (KSMOF) with respect to ensuring financial control without which no amount of internally generated revenue could make the state independent in fiscal matters. The scope of the study was limited to the staff of the headquarters of the KSMOF and descriptive research design, ex post factor, was used. Questionnaires were used in data collection and simple percentages were used in data analysis. Among the major findings of the study, it was revealed that control procedures carried out by the KSMOF were generally appropriate. The conclusion of the research was that the KSMOF is a very important stakeholder in any revenue diversification derive and reform to be ignored. The study’s recommendation, among others, is that to safeguard public funds from misuse, personal lifestyles of employees of the KSMOF need to be monitored.