The effect of integrated financial management Information system on public financial management and service delivery of government ministries in Kenya

Abstract

Kenya, like other developing countries is constrained in terms of resources. The government is also alive to the fact that it needs to free resources for medium term priorities and has put in place several interventions towards this. The government is also aware that with the two levels of government in place, national and county governments, the gap between requirements and allocations has increased tremendously. With this in mind, it is critical that prudent financial management should be prioritized through putting in place system for controls and decision making. IFMIS is one of such systems and the success in its implementation is step in the right direction. Integrated Financial Management Systems (IFMS) are used by several countries to control expenditures and track development initiatives. Kenya has been implementing the systems since 2008 in pilot institutions. With this development, determining the effect of IFMIS on public financial management and service delivery in government ministries in Kenya was the motivation behind this paper. The study used descriptive research design and random sampling method was applied. Primary and secondary data was used for the study. Primary data was collected from 54 officers drawn from 18 ministries working in accounts, audit, procurement and finance. The study used a semistructured questionnaire to elicit information from them, while a desk review complemented the primary data. Frequency tables, graphs and bar charts were used to present data while SPSS was used to analyze data. Correlation analysis was used to test the strength of the relationship of the concerned variables. The study found out IFMIS has led to significant improvement in both public financial management and service delivery in government ministries in Kenya. Correlation analysis shows a strong positive relationship between IFMIS and service delivery at +0.714. In addition, IFMIS has led to improved resource allocation and reduced fraud rate. All are in agreement that IFMIS has not only enhanced accountability, efficient allocation of resources and encouraged more transparency but has also led to improved public financial management and ultimately service delivery. The system has brought about greater budget utilization, improved service delivery and enhanced capacity to track budget implementation. The system has further led to the reduction of fraud and corruption by a great extent, although some reservations exist. Worth noting is the fact that the system has led to reduced pending bills and this has been occasioned by the high accountability standards, enhanced transparency and efficient allocation of resources. IFMIS has also brought about timely production of accurate reports for monitoring and decision making purposes.