Abstract:
Proper management of finances in secondary schools is very imperative to their operations.
There are, however, serious financial challenges in public secondary schools in Kenya as
characterized by unprecedented high fees charged on students. This study evaluated the
factors influencing financial management in public Secondary Schools in Nakuru County.
Specifically, it analyzed the influence of budget management and financial controls on financial
management. The study was guided by budget, financial control, and agency theories. The
study adopted a cross-sectional survey research design. The study targeted heads and bursars
of public secondary schools in Kenya. The accessible population constituted all the 172 school
heads and 172 bursars of public secondary schools in Nakuru County. Stratified random
sampling method was adopted to draw a sample of 78 from the accessible population. A
structured questionnaire was used to collect data. A pilot study was conducted before the main
study in order to examine the reliability and validity of the research questionnaire. The Cronbach
alpha coefficient was used to text reliability while the university supervisor was consulted to
determine the content validity of the research questionnaire. Data analysis was aided by the
Statistical Package for Social Sciences analytical tool. Data analysis encompassed both
descriptive and inferential statistics. Study findings were presented in form of tables. The study established that budget management and financial controls positively and significantly
influenced financial management. The study recommended that public secondary schools
should have effective budget management mechanisms and strong financial controls.
