Management of strategic change at the Kenya national audit office (Kenao)

Abstract

Change is the single most important element of successful business management today. Understanding and managing changes are the dominant themes of management today. It is against this background that this study was designed to establish change management practices by the Kenya National Audit Office (KENAO) and to determine the challenges to the change progamme. The study targeted twenty senior managers at the KENAO out of whom eighteen participated in the study, achieving a response rate of90%. From the research findings, the forces behind changes at the KENAO include the statutory requirements to comply with the audit reporting deadlines; the need to plan ahead; the quest for independence of the office given its widened mandate; and the declining quality of audit reports among others. The objectives of the change programme were to turnaround KENAO into an effective and professional office; increase the level of efficiency; and give independence to KENAO. The study, however, established the change effort faced some challenges including fear of the unknown; satisfaction with the status quo (comp-lacency); and fear of inability to develop relevant skills. To deal with such challenges, it was found out that KENAO adopted a number of methods including training and education; effective and open communication; and use of local change leaders at the KENAO.