GREAT ZIMBABWE UNIVERSITY

MUNHUMUTAPA SCHOOL OF COMMERCE

DEPARTMENT OF ACCOUNTING AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS

FINANCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY AND PERFORMANCE IN GOVERNMENT ENTITIES. A

CASE STUDY OF FORESTRY COMMISSION.

RESEARCH PROJECT

BY

FADZAI KUNZEKWEGUTA

M147594

SUBMITTED TO GREAT ZIMBABWE UNIVERSITY IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT

OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR (Master of Commerce Degree in Professional Accounting and
Corporate Governance).

MASVINGO, ZIMBABWE

YEAR 2022
 CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

1.0 Introduction

1.1 Background of the study

Financial accountability can be defined as the management of the finances of an organization in

order to achieve the financial objectives of the organization (Tooley and Hooks, 2009).
According to Kanyinga and Mitullah, (2007) financial accountability includes; Financial
reporting and analysis, the nature, frequency and purpose of financial reporting, auditing,
analysis and interpretation of financial performance. Maropo (2018) argues that public
accountability has to do with ensuring that those who are vested with public mandate to control
and run public offices are required by law to answer and justify their actions and conducts
through a forum that is pre-determined. He further argued that accountability is not limited to
public expenditure but includes reporting on the progress, performance, failures, successes,
actual versus targeted performances, and on the general exercise of authority delegated by a
superior authority. The reason for enforcing accountability measures is to avoid or minimize
abuse of power by government entities through checks and balances. In this research focus will
be put on level of financial accountability and responsibility of management to ensure that the
entities performs financially viable. Chigumira, Chipumbo and Chiwunze (2020) are of view that
recommendations from the Auditor-General reports need to be followed through by Parliament
and addressed by the respective public entities if the principles of transparency and
accountability are be adhered to. The main concern by diverse stakeholders is that the adverse
issues raised keep recurring without redress and there is limited evidence that the Auditor
General’s recommendations are taken seriously

1.2 Statement of the problem

Financial accountability failures has affected the performance of government entities and
prevalent issues for business worldwide for a long time. Increase in financial misappropriation
and number of corporate scandals (Enron andWorldCom ) had an important impact on
understanding and analyzing financial accountability. According to Auditor general (2018) poor
financial accountability in Forestry Commission, has led to the doubt of the entity a going
concern. This study focuses on the effects of financial accountability on the performance of non-
governmental organizations

I.3 Main research objectives

To establish the effects of financial accountability on the performance of government
entities
I.3.1 Sub research objectives
I. To determine accountability and performance requirements of management.
II. Assessment of levels of accountability and responsibility.
III. To determine if financial accountability has any relationship with performance.
IV. To identify strategies to enhance financial accountability and performance.

1.4 Main research questions

I. What is required from management to ensure financial accountability and performance?

II. What is the levels of accountability and responsibility?
III. What is the relationship between financial accountability and performance?
IV. What strategies can be implemented to enhance accountability in government entities?

1.5 Justification of the study

1.5.1 To the student

The study will provide more intellectual knowledge and literature about financial accountability
and performance.

1.5.2 To Great Zimbabwe University

The research will provide valuable literature on public financial management. The research will enrich
the University library by adding value and contributing to the existing body of knowledge as well as
providing scope for further research on areas that this research did not cover in the field public finances

1.5.3 To policy makers

The study will suggest a conceptual framework that will ensure financial accountability to
increase performance of government entities and also provide strategies for achieving
accountability

1.5.4 To the organization

The study will provide knowledge, on the responsibilities of management on financial

accountability and improving performance of the organization. This further enable the
organization to grow in the foreseeable future.

1.6 Delimitation of the study

1.6.1 Geographical delimitation

The study was limited to the finance department of Forestry Commission in Bulawayo. The
research survey was designed to establish the geographical scope of the organization as a means
to establish with they have knowledge on financial accountability and performance

1.6.2 Theoretical delimitation

The study only focused on financial accountability and performance in government entities. It
revealed the requirements of management to accountability and performance requirements of
management, further Assessed of levels of accountability and responsibility, also determined if
there is any relationship between financial accountability and performance. It concluded by
looking at strategies to enhance financial accountability and performance.

1.7 Definition of terms

Financial accountability

Financial accountability is about making sure that funds have been spent as agreed and
according to appropriate rules and regulations

Financial performance
According to Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (2010), performance refers to the
ability to operate efficiently, profitability, survive grow and react to the environmental
opportunities and threats.
1.8 Project of outline

Chapter I

This is an overview of the study compromising of introduction, background of study and

problem statement. Its further proposes research objectives, research questions, delimitations of
the study, definition of terms and signafiance of the study. The chapter concludes with a
summary

Chapter II

The chapter provides literature review on financial accountability and performance, conceptual
framework. Identifying the independent and dependant variable of the the study. It also set of the
theoretical framework, theories underpinning the study will be discussed in this chapter.

Chapter III

The chapter justifies the research methodology adapoted for this study. Specifically the research
design and methods. The chapter will also define the target population, sample and sampling
procedures. Procedures for data collection and analysis will be outlined

Chapter IV

The chapter provides for data presentation, analysis and presentation. Data collected from
questionnaires from chapter three will be presented and interpreted in the chapter

Chapter V

It will present the summary of all chapters, conclusions will be drawn from the this chapter and
recommendations are outlined for future research

1.8 Summary
The chapter introduced the study background, research problem, the purpose of the study, the

study objectives, as well as study questions, study significance, delimitation, and limitations as

well as ethical considerations. The next chapter reviews literature related to financial

accountability and performance in government entities

CHAPTER II

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.0 Introduction

The previous chapter introduced the issue underpinning the study . The purpose of this section is
to provide conceptual framework, it ouline the independent and dependant variable and the
expected outcome the research. Theories underpinning the study will be discussed in the chapter
for the theoretical framework and empirical framework will be discussed, giving present studies
on financial accountability and performance in government entities.

2.1 Conceptual framework

A conceptual framework illustrates the expected relationship between your variables. It defines

the relevant objectives for your research process and maps out how they come together to draw
coherent conclusions (Tegan and Bas 2022)It hypothesizes that with designed financial
accountability systems for governemt entities , financial performance is improve. It has two
variables in the research. This includes the independent and dependant variable. An independent
variable is the variable you manipulate or vary in an experimental study to explore its effects. It’s
called “independent” because it’s not influenced by any other variables in the study. A dependent
variable is the variable that changes as a result of the independent variable manipulation. It’s the
outcome you’re interested in measuring, and it “depends” on your independent variable (Pritha
2022). In the research financial accountability is the independent variables and performance is
the dependant variable

Fig 2.1 Conceptual framework

Independent variable Dependent variable Expected outcome

 Financial Financial Good financial
accountability performance accountability = best
performance

Financial accountability

(Hulme & Sanderatne, 2008). A typical definition is that accountability concerns the processes
by which those who exercise power whether as governments, as elected representatives or as
appointed officials, must be able to show that they have exercised their powers and discharged
their duties properly. Fox Meyer (2017) defines accountability as the “responsibility of
government and its agents towards the public to achieve previously set objectives and to account
for them in public” It is also regarded as a commitment required from public officials
individually and collectively to accept public responsibility for their own action and inaction.
Theory and practice suggest that accountability practice in government entities are weak due to
governments ignoring social ethics, legal provisions in the conduct of public affairs, systems of
checks and balances are weak, and corrupt practices are widespread and political and personal
loyalty are rewarded more than merit and public participation in running public affairs is low.

Financial performance

According to Performance Institute (2021), Government performance is the measure of how well
or bad various government agencies carry out their mandate to achieve set goals and objectives.
Accountability is all about taking responsibility for your actions. If the entity creates a healthy
system of financial accountability it can improve government performance in long term.
Accountability tends to create a sense of competence and ownership, which can go a long way to
boost employee morale and commitment hence financial performance of the entity improves.
Lee et al., (2008) found out that, objective performance measures include indicators such as
profit growth, revenue growth, return on capital employed.

Government entity
A public entity is an organisation or body providing services to the public on behalf of the
government or another public entity (Human Rights Commission 2019). In this regard FC, like
any other government entity should operate in an accountability manner. The entity should safe
safe guard entity assets, as this will make the organization to operate efficiently and effectively.
Taxes that are contribute by the public to finance the operation of the entity must the utilized for
the benefit of the nation. Also officers in charge should be responsible and accountable for the
funds. Financial statements must be prepared and reported to the relevant authorizes. Controls
must be put in place ascertain that funds are safe from misappropriation, fraudulent activites. The
entity must be able to put control that can detect fraud in government, as this affect performance
of the entity. Donor funding received by government entities must be accounted for, this give a
clear picture of accountability to international community and it guarantees for funding, they
performance of the entities improve (financial accountability playing an important role)

2.2 What is the relationship between financial accountability and performance?

Lee and Ali (2008) there is a direct relationship between financial accountability and financial
performance. This is because financial accountability improves financial performance; the goal
of financial accountability is to improve performance, not to place blame and deliver
punishments. Systems of budget reporting have been established with the accounting for
government expenditures and the provision of information on performance for use by
implementers, managers and politicians. The mismanagement and embezzlement of funds by the
officials of the government entities have contributed to poor financial performance. Jones (2009)
argues that for financial accountability to be effective, action should be taken upon entities,
which render inadequate financial accountability. There may be a functioning financial system,
but due to information asymmetries or social polarization, the outcomes may still be biased
against the poor. According to Ministry of Finance Zimbabwe (2022) sights contracts and
financial accountability in should be verified if work done is before payments are effected on
every phase completed. Effective financial accountability requires government entities staff
support their departments through their actions, advice and information (Baron et al., 2007).
Effective and useful financial accountability measures must be unambiguous,

To ensure financial accountability, formulators policies are “principals” who delegate the task
of actual implementation of policy to subordinates, or “agents.” Principals and their agents are
 assumed to have more or less diverse, even divergent preferences and goals for policy
implementation. 2002). The operators who actually deliver financials to people might not do so
in the proper way if left to their own devices, therefore nongovernmental organizations must
design a system to compel their proper behavior or force them to account for improper behavior
According to Moyes et al., (2006), financial reports must exhibit certain qualities that make
them useful to the stakeholders and these include relevance, reliability, understandability and
timeliness. Australian Accounting Research Foundation (1990) stated that it is important for
financial reports to be relevant. They must have value in terms in making and evaluating
decisions about the allocation of scarce resources and in assessing the rendering of
accountability by the providers. The reports must also be reliable because users use them for
decision making. Reliability means that information is reasonably free from error and bias and
faithfully represents what it purports to represent. Understandability is the ability of users to
understand the financial reports. Timeliness of financial reports is very crucial because reports
which are relevant and reliable may be rendered irrelevant if there is undue delay in presenting
them. According to Borman (2017), poor quality of financial reports greatly diminishes the
quality of government entities. Quality information is one that is readable, reliable, comparable,
consistent, complete, timely, accessible and cost effective. The integrity of the nonprofit sector
is served best if NGOs are accountable.

2.3 Theoretical framework

2.3.1 The Fraud Triangle Theory

In an attempt to understand the underlying theory behind fraud, Cressey (1953) conducted 200
interviews with convicted fraudsters over a period of five months. Themes from the interviews
revealed that fraud perpetrators were in a place of trust within their organisations. They were also
in situations that gave them access to data and opportunities to mislead their associates. Past
research has shown that fraud perpetrators usually cannot be distinguished from other people by
demographic or psychological characteristics. Some individuals who engaged in financial
statement fraud had previous reputations for high integrity (Centre for Audit Quality, 2010).
Considering these findings, Cressey (1953) established a concept of fraud, which predicts a
probability of the incidence of deception related to the existence of opportunity, non-shareable
financial difficulties, and rationalization
a. Perceived Pressure

Perceived pressure refers to those factors that lead an individual to behave unethically (Abdullahi
& Mansor, 2015). The source of pressure as observed by Albrecht et al. (2006) can either be
financial or non-financial, although more often, it is the financial pressure that leads to fraud.
Albrecht (2014) argued that the pressure to commit fraud does not necessarily have to be real.
Hence, he suggested that the word perceived pressure should be used instead of pressure on its
own. If fraud perpetrators believed that they are being pressurised, such belief could lead to fraud
(Abdullahi & Mansor, 2015). All fraud perpetrators face at some point perceived pressure to
behave unethically (Abdullahi & Mansor, 2015). Albrecht (2014) posits that pressures to commit
fraud are most often generated by strong peer-group influence. In other instances, the pressure to
commit financial statement fraud is because of management or board of directors setting
unrealistic performance objectives and targets, thereby resulting in creative accounting which
eventually leads to financial statement fraud. Perceived pressure can also be viewed as a
situation where someone believes that they need to commit fraud (Albrecht, et al., 2008).
Albrecht and his colleagues went further to categorise pressure into four types; financial, work-
related, vices and other pressure.

b. Perceived Opportunity
The second necessary element for an agent to commit fraud is a perceived opportunity. Fraud
does not occur in isolation. All criminal violation of trust is a combination of motive and
opportunity (Wells, 2004). Cressey (1950, 1953) indicated that for employees to commit any
criminal violation of trust there must be a perceived chance to commit the fraud without being
detected. If there is no perceived opportunity, then a fraud perpetrator will not commit fraud.
Even in the presence of intense perceived pressure, executives who believe they will be caught
and punished rarely commit fraud. However, executives who believe they have an opportunity to
commit and conceal fraud most of the time give-in to their perceived pressure (Albrecht, et al.,
2004).

Cressey (1953) observed that the lower the risk of being caught, the more likely it is that
someone will commit fraud. Wilson (2008) asserted that an opportunity is power and the ability
to override control. This is what makes internal audit not to be an effective and reliable fraud
deterrence mechanism. Management has the power and ability to override controls within the
organisation or even pressurise the internal audit department to override control to give room for
accounting manipulations leading to financial statement fraud. Whatever increases the capability
and capacity for fraud to be perpetrated and concealed will increase the opportunity for fraud to
occur (Albrecht & Albrecht, 2003). Factors such as the weak board of directors, inadequate
internal control, laxity in the accounting and auditing standard and the ability to obfuscate the
fraud behind complex transactions or related party structures are usually the perceived
opportunities to commit management fraud (Albrecht, et al., 2004; Abdullahi & Mansor, 2015).

c. Rationalisation
The last element of the fraud triangle model is a rationalisation. The concept of rationalisation as
observed by Cressey (1953) is that a fraud perpetrator must formulate some morally acceptable
idea to himself before engaging in a fraudulent or dishonest act. Because fraudsters do not view
themselves as criminals, they must justify their misdeeds to themselves before they commit the
crime. (Auditor of Public Accounts, 2011). If there is no moral justification for the crime, it is
highly likely that such crime or dishonest behaviour will not occur (Abdullahi & Mansor, 2015).

2.3.2 The agency theory

The agency theory is relevant for understanding accountability mechanisms in public sector
organizations (Yen, Nguyen and Trag 2021). Hung and Tuan (2015:2) defines an agency
relationship as “a contract under which one or many parties hire another party (the agent) to
perform some service on their behalf and authorize agents to make decisions” (delegate making-
decision authorities to the agent). The agency theory states that the existing agency problems in
the corporate are “the separation of ownership and control, which leads to conflicts in interests
(Tuan, 2015). Eke (2018) argues that separating ownership and control will lead to interest
conflict; which often happens in most of individual activities in a decentralisation system
between owner and agent. Principals appoint agents (management) and delegate some decision-
making authority to them. In so doing, principals place trust in their agents to act in the
principals’ best interests. There are various mechanisms that may be used to try to align the
interests of agents with principals to allow principals to measure and control the behaviour of
their agents and reinforce trust in agents. The Forest commission as the principal aims to
improve its financial performance, client satisfaction, efficiency and effectiveness of its
operations and also to increase easiness of doing business but there has been reported
misappropriation of assets and failure to account for finances (Forest commission, 2019). This
demonstrates the separation of ownership and control which leads to conflicts in interest. The
agency theory is relevant to the study as it views financial accountability as one of the
mechanisms that help balance the interests of the organisation and its members as they work
towards achieving the organisations goals and objectives.

2.3.3 New public management theory

New public management is a vision, an ideology or a bundle of particular management

approaches and techniques New Public Management (NPM) is the most dominant paradigm in
the discipline of public administration (Arora 2003). It conjures up an image enmeshed with
minimal government, decentralization, the market orientation of public service, contracting out,
privatization, and performance management. (Nazmulaj, Kabir and Nour 2012) The New Public
Management (NPM) seeks to offer a more efficient mechanism for delivering goods and services
and for raising governmental performance levels (Kelly 2017). As the public management school
of thought argues, performance measurement also enables public sector bodies to be held directly
to account for their activities. Under the regime of performance measurement, public sector
organizations should be committed to an ethos of continuous improvement in levels and
standards of service delivery. Allied to performance measurement is the need for a 'focus on
results rather than processes

Public Administration vs New Public Management (Araujo, 2001)

Elements New public management Traditional Public Administration

Government Break-up of traditional structures Services provided on a uniform
organization into quasi-autonomous units basis operating as a single
aggregated unit
Control of public Hands-on professional Control from the headquarters
organizations management with a clear through the hierarchy of unbroken
statement of goals and supervision and checks and
 performance measurement balances
Control of output Stress results and output control Control of inputs and procedures
measures rather than procedures
Management Using a private sector Standard established procedures
practices management style throughout the service
Discipline in Check resources demand and ‘do Due process and political
resource use more with less entitlements

Doctrine of New Public Management (Hood, 1994)

Doctrine Meaning Justification

Hands-on professional Visible managers at the top of Accountability requires clear
management of public the organization, free to assign a ment of
organization. manage by use of responsibility, not diffusion
discretionary power of power.
Explicit standards and Goals and targets defined and Accountability means clearly
measures of performance. are measurable as indicators stated aims; efficiency
of success. requires a ‘hard look’ at
objectives
Greater emphasis on output Resource allocation and Need to stress results rather
controls rewards are linked to than procedures.
performance.
Shift to disaggregation of Disaggregate public sector Make units manageable; split
units in the public sector. into corporatized units of provision and production, use
activity, organised by contracts or franchises inside
products, with devolved as well as outside the public
budgets. Units dealing at sector.
arm’s length with each other
Shift to greater competition in Move to term contracts and Rivalry via competition as the
the public sector public tendering procedures; key to lower costs and better
introduction of market standards
 disciplines in public sector
Stress on private-sector styles Move away from traditional Need to apply ‘proven’
of management practice. public service ethics to more private sector management
flexible pay, hiring and rules tools in the public sector
Stress on greater discipline Cutting direct costs, raising Need to check resource
and economy in public sector labour discipline, limiting demands of the public sector,
resource use compliance costs to business. and do more with less

2.4 Empirical Review

Agwor and Akani (2017) carried a research on Financial accountability and performance
of Local governments in rivers state, Nigeria
The study consisted of two local government areas in Nigeria. A stratified random sampling
method was used to elect members in the sample, the data was generated through primary data
collection of questionnaires and analysis was done through SPSS. It was observed that
transparency and integrity in financial accountability of local governments have a significant
relationship with local government performance. In most developing countries, local
governments can only be assumed to be performing if projects and services delivered meets the
local demands of its citizens. This study shows that transparency and integrity enhance the
effective provision of primary health care in Rivers State Local Governments.

Minja (2013) accountability practice in Kenya’s public service: lessons to guide service
improvement.
The accountability research work has focused on financial management accountability practice,
little has been done on non-financial issues of accountability practice. The respondents agreed
that accountability practice was evident in public sector. When probed further on the manner of
accountability, the indicated that primary means of promoting accountability was through book
keeping, preparing accounts with supporting documents and following the procedures and
systems in place. They indicated that this level of understanding of accountability practice has
led to senior public officials abusing their offices in the guise that they were operating within the
law. I was pinpointed that Members of Kenyan Parliament increased their salaries by enacting a
law that only favored them, in spite of public demonstrations. This meant therefore that what is
generally referred to as accountability in public sector is more of accounting that accountability.
The study finally established that majority of the public servants have a very narrow
understanding of the meaning of accountability practice in public sector. To most of them,
following accounting procedures and government systems was enough and demonstrated good
performance

Hakimand and Agustianwan (2019) Accountability and Performance of the Public

Sector Organization.

Hakimand and Agustianwan (2019) carried out a research on accountability and performance on
the Government of Indonesia, the study revealed that the factor causing local governments to
carry out accountability was due to regulatory obligations and strong pressure from the central
government. In Indonesia, accountability is seen as a necessity because of pressure from external
parties. The question arises how exactly is the performance and accountability in the public
sector at this time especially in Indonesia? It was observed that good accountability is
accountability that can show an increase in performance of government entities and positive
changes in employee behavior. The results of this finding conclude that financial accountability
and performance accountability are the driving factors for achieving the performance of public
sector organizations in order to fulfill good services for the community. The community requires
accountability for what has been done by public sector organizations, in this case the Regional
Work Unit (SKPD) in order to achieve the overall organizational goals.

Muttaqin and Mulyasari (2015) Financial Accountability: Organizational Performance

Improvement Through Culture Control and Contractibility.
The study focused on performance contract and use of performance measurement systems that
affected performance of government organizations. The research was carried in Banten province,
a target population of 145 resulted into a conclusions. It was established contrctibility positively
affected the performance of public sector organization, culture control had positive impact on
performance of public sector entities. It was further revealed that the performance of the
organization positively affected financial accountability of public sector organizations.
Improving efficiency, effectiveness and accountability in the public sector, the New Public
Management
recommends establishing clear and measurable performance contracts prior to setting
performance targets that will serve as guidelines for government officials to achieve
organizational goals.

Yen, Nguyen and Trag (2021) The role of accountability in determining the relationship
between financial reporting quality and the performance of public organizations: Evidence
from Vietnam
The trio carried out a research on the role of accountability in determining the relationship
between financial reporting quality and the performance of public organizations. Agency theory
was the main theoretical framework. A total of 177 responses obtained from accountants and
managers working in the public sector were collected and data analyzed. Data presented showed
that accountability had a role in the relationship between financial reporting quality and financial
performance, if public organization have well designed financial accountability systems both
financial reporting and organizational performance will improve.

2.5.1 Summary

Chapter two dicussed the conceptual framework, financial accountability was identified has an
independent variable whilst performance being the dependant variable. Three theories were
discussed being new public management, agency and fraud triangle theories. Empirical work was
was discussed in the covering financial accountability and performance in government entites.

The following chapter will the research methodology

 CHAPTER III

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 Introduction

3.2 Research methodology

3.3 Research design

3.4 Target population

3.5 Sample

3.6 Sampling procedure

3.7 Research instrument

The study questionnaires to collect data from respondents.

3.7.1 Questionnaires

A questionnaire is an instrument of research consisting of a series of questions and other prompts

for the purpose of gathering information from respondents (Malhotra, 2012). A questionnaire
was used to gather written responses from the targeted population which are then reviewed,
tabulated and analyzed. Questionnaires guarantee confidentiality; hence, respondents act without
any fear or embarrassment. Another advantage is that the interviewee, whose personal
appearance, mood or conduct may influence the results of an interview, is not present when the
questionnaire is being completed (Burns, 2015). Furthermore, a questionnaire is a quick and
efficient way to obtain information from a large number of consumers. However, designing a
questionnaire is complex and time-consuming, and the quality of the data that are collected is
determined by the quality of the questionnaire.

3.8 Data collection

3.9 Ethical considerations

3.10 Summary
Reference list

Agwor and Akani (2017). Financial accountability and performance of Local governments in
rivers state, Nigeria. International Journal of Economics, Commerce and Management United
Kingdom Vol. V, Issue 10.

Muttaqin and Mulyasari (2015) Financial Accountability: Organizational Performance

Improvement Through Culture Control and Contractibility. Faculty of Economics and Business
University of Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa
Hakimand and Agustianwan (2019) Accountability and Performance of the Public
Sector Organization

Minja (2013) accountability practice in Kenya’s public service: lessons to guide service
improvement. International Journal of Business and Management Review Vol.1, No.4, pp.54-63

Chigumira, Chipumbo and Chiwunze (2020), Fiscal Transparency and

AccountabilitywithintheContextofDevolutioninZimbabwe, ZimbabweEconomicPolicyAnalysisand
Research Unit. Harare

Tegan and Bas (2022), What Is a Conceptual Framework? | Tips & Examples,
www.scribbr.com/methodology/conceptual-framework, Published on August 2, 2022

Pritha. (2022), https://www.scribbr.com/methodology/independent-and-dependent-variables/

Independent vs. Dependent Variables | Definition & Examples Published on February 3, 2022

Lee, T.H., Ali, A. &Kandasamy, S. (2008c).Towards Reducing Audit Expectation Gap: Possible Mission,
Accountants Today. February. pp. 18-22

Performance Institute (2021), 6 Factors to Improve Government Performance,

https://www.performanceinstitute.org/blog/improving-government-performance#:~:text=What%20is
%20Government%20Performance%3F,achieve%20set%20goals%20and%20objectives, April 2021.

Human Rights Commission (2019), Are you a public entity? https://www.qhrc.qld.gov.au/your-

responsibilities/for-public-entities/are-you-a-public-entity, November 2019

Cressey, H. (1953), Responsibility And Detection in Management Fraud, Reading and Cases in Auditing,
Dame Publications, Houston, TX.

Yen.T.T, Nguyen.P.N and Trag.C.H (2021) The role of accountability in determining the relationship
between financial reporting quality and the performance of public organizations: Evidence from
Vietnam, Journal of Accounting and Public Policy Volume 40, Issue 1, January–February 2021

Nazmulaj A.K, Kabir M.A.A and Nour M.M.A (2012) New Public Management: Emergence and Principles,
BUP JOURNAL, Volume 1, Issue 1, September 2012,
 QUESTIONNAIRE

1. Do not write your name on this questionnaire

2. May you please attempt all the questions

3. Please place a tick ( √) in the box of your preferred answer and or a narrative answer in
the space provided below each question
SECTION A: DEMOGRAPHICS AND GENERAL INFORMATION

1. Gender

Male [ ]

Female [ ]

2. Age

Below 30 years [ ], 31 to 40 years [ ], 41 to 50 years [ ], Above 50 years

[ ]

3. Working experience?

Less than 5 years [ ], 6 to 10 years [ ], 11 to 15 years [ ], above 15 years [ ]

4. Educational qualifications

National [ ], Diploma [ ], Bachelor’s degree [ ], Masters [ ], Professional

qualification [ ], Doctorate [ ]

SECTION B: General Opinion Section

Please choose the most suitable answer to indicate the extent to which you agree or disagree with

each of the statements given below. Please tick the number that represents your opinion

1-Strongly Disagree, 2- Disagree, 3- Neutral, 4-Agree, 5- Strongly agree

5. To determine financial accountability and performance requirements of

management at FC

1 2 3 4 5

The entity has functional internal audit department, to strengthen internal controls

The recommendations from internal audits are implemented

 All financial statements are update

All financial statements are of best quality and prepared within requirements of

IAS

6. Assessment of levels of financial accountability and responsibility

1 2 3 4 5

Financial results are reported to the stakeholders

The entity is a corporate socially responsible

FC always look forward to getting out much in relation to how much they put

in

FC utilizes resource on time in attainment of the entity’s objectives

7. To determine whether financial accountability has any relationship with

performance

1 2 3 4 5

Entity maximizes its surplus (performance) when it is financially accountable.

The entity size grows and can diverse into other economic activities.

The entity operates in line with its budgets.

8. To identify strategies to enhance financial accountability and performance

1 2 3 4 5
The entity has performance based contracts for management

The entity should adjust annual budgets in line with economic trends (inflation)

The internal audit should be well resourced to ensure adherence to internal

controls.

The entity must have information technology to detect financial

misappropriation.

Thank you for your time