The Effect of Audit Committees on the Performance of County Governments in Kenya

Purpose - The chief objective of this management research study was to determine the effect of county audit committees on the performance of county governments in Kenya. Methodology - This management research paper was based on a conceptual framework that elaborates this relationship theoretically based on the exploratory empirical studies. This management research paper uses three theories as the anchoring theories based on the research variables of county audit committees and performance. Thus, this research paper built an all-inclusive structure that answers the research question of whether county audit committees had an effect on the county government performance in Kenya. The study uses a purposive judgement sampling model. The target population was all 47 county governments in Kenya and the county audit committees was the preferred unit of analysis. Hypotheses were tested using regression analysis and Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation analysis. Descriptive statistics were computed for the study objectives on the main characteristics of the study variables. Findings - The findings revealed that there was a strong relationship between county audit committees and county government performance. Implications - The findings of this study give managers and policy makers in the county government an in-depth understanding of the best practices in the management of public sector establishments by the use of county audit committees to promote their performance. Value - This study significantly contributes to the understanding and use of theories and practice of the correlation between county audit committees and performance of organizations. The key terms are; audit committees, county and performance.