The relationship between budgetary process and budgetary variance in the main stream churches in Kenya

Abstract

A budget is a key management tool for planning, monitoring, and controlling the finances of a project or organization. It estimates the income and expenditures for a set period of time for any organization. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between budgetary process and budget variance in Kenyan mainstream churches, the study adopted a research design that was descriptive survey in nature. The target population for this study consisted of the mainstream Kenyan churches that currently operate/don’t operate a budgetary process in their churches. The study sampled 25 churches from the mainstream churches. The target respondents were senior pastor(s), elders, church executive officials and administrative heads. Quantitative method of analysis applied for the study. The filled questionnaires were edited and coded according to the respective specific objectives of the study to ensure accuracy and minimize on the margin of error. They were later entered into the Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) for data processing and analysis. The various measures of central tendency and dispersion were analyzed and used to interpret and make inferences. The data was presented using tables, graphs and charts to give the results of the findings. The findings of the study revealed that a greater proportion (49%) of the mainstream churches raise over Kshs. 500,000 from tithes and offerings within a month,30% raise Kshs. 401-500,000 while only 4% obtain below Kshs.100,00.The findings imply that the mainstream churches rely mostly on the tithes and offerings as their main sources of income. Out of the churches targeted for the study, 41% raise Kshs. 101,000-200,000,20% raise Kshs. 301,000-400,000,only 6% raise over Kshs.500,000 from fundraisings. Among the targeted mainstream churches 54% take +/-10% as the tolerance limits while 12% take +/-15% as the tolerance limits. The findings imply that the churches budgetary controls are weak and this explain why a greater proportion of the churches have put tolerance limits of above +/-5%. The findings of the study reveal that budget planning, budget measurement report, budget monitoring and actions taken for adverse budget variances have positive and significant relationships with the budget variance. They were, respectively, at the significant levels of 0.01, 0.1, and 0.05.