Abstract:
The overall objective of this study was to determine the Technical Skills affecting the effectivenessof financial control in Community Support Funds in Kenya: A Case of Maasai Mara Community Support Fund. The specific objectives of the study were: to find out the effect of numeracy skills, book keeping skills, budgeting skills and auditing skills as factors affecting the effectiveness of financial controlin Maasai Mara Community Support Fund. The study used a descriptive cross-section design. The study targeted a population of 136 stakeholders. Data was collected using questionnaires. The validity and reliability were tested to ensure that the questionnaires provided the data that was required for the study. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics for frequency and percentages, Pearson correlation analysis and Chi-square analysis to summarize and classify data, to establish the relationship between the variables and to determine the strength of association between the variables respectively. The study established that numeracy skills of community support fund officials was an important factor in influencing the effectiveness of financial control in the community support fund (r= 0.263, p- value = 0.005), the study also established that book keeping skills was important in the effectiveness of financial control in the community support fund(r = 0.286; p- value = 0.002). The study further noted that budgeting skills was key in the effectiveness of financial control of community support fund (r = 0.972; p- value = 0.000). Regarding the influence of auditing skills on the effectiveness of financial control majority of the respondents agreed that it has an influence on the effectiveness of financial control but the influence was not significant when tested using Pearson correlation, the results showed a positive but weak correlation which was significant (r = 0.282; p- value = 0.002). The hypothesis of each of the four factorswas tested using chi square analysis, where the entire four null hypotheses were rejected based on the Chi square values. There was a general perception from most of the respondents that effectiveness of financial control in community support fund was influenced by numeracy skills, book keeping skills, budgeting skills and auditing skills. The study therefore concluded that community support funds should ensure that they employ people who have numeracy skills, book keeping skills, budgeting skills and auditing skills in order to enhance the effectiveness of financial control. The findings of the study will assist in formulation of appropriate policies on the effectiveness of financial control for not only Maasai Mara Community Support Fund but to all other community support funds seeking effective financial control.
