Effect Of Budget As An Instrument Of Financial Control On The Public Sector Performance (a Study Of Ministry Of Finance, Enugu State)

Abstract

This research work examined the Effect of Budget as an Instrument of Financial Control in the Public Sector: A Study of Ministry of Finance, Enugu State. Budget is an instrument used for financial control in the public sector financial management. It is a means of creating a plan for the expenditures and income of a government for a fiscal year. Budget is futuristic in nature and an authority to spend money in the Public Sector Ministries. Therefore, in this study the objective of the study were to ascertain if budget documents are consulted before funds are released in the public sector; to find out if budgets are used to check misappropriation of public funds and to examine the extent to which Virement documents are used to control revenue and expenditure of funds in the Ministry of finance Enugu State. The study applied a descriptive survey research design that used structured questionnaire as the main instrument for data collection. The population of the study is 152 staff of the Ministry of Finance Enugu State. The sample size was 110, obtained through the use of Taro Yamani formula. The data collected with the aid of questionnaire were analyzed using percentage frequency tables, while the hypotheses were tested using the chi-square statistical tool. The findings of the study revealed that budget documents in the Ministry are consulted before funds are released with a result of P. value = .025, budgets are used to check misappropriation of funds with a P. value =.000 and that Virements books are also used as documents to control revenue and expenditures of fund in the Public Sector Ministry, statistically resulting to P. value = .000. Based on the above findings, the researcher recommended that: the government should ensure overall fiscal discipline in the allocation of the country’s resources to priority needs of the people before funds are released; effective monitoring and evaluation approach should be adopted; that financial officer should avoid misappropriation of fund from one sub-head to the other and Virement books should be used regularly as a tool to control income and expenditures in the ministries.