The Impact of Internal Audit Practices on Financial Management of Local Government Authorities: The Case of Morogoro Municipality in Tanzania

Abstract

This study intended to explore the impact of internal audit practices on financial management of the Tanzanian LGAs, mainly at Morogoro Municipal. Descriptive and multiple regression analysis were applied on the collected data through survey instrument. Our findings indicate internal audit independence and quality of internal audit work significantly affect financial management in the stated LGAs. On the other hand, internal audit proficiency has no negative insignificant impact on financial management. It is recommended that LGAs should ensure that internal auditors are always equipped with relevant audit experience to enable them carry out their activities with confidence. Also, independence of internal auditors in Tanzanian LGAs must be significantly emphasized in order to ensure effective operations and management of public resources. Since our study concentrated only in one Municipal Council (Morogoro Municipality), it is recommended that future studies should consider the remaining Municipals in Tanzania. Morever, consideration of qualitative research approach will add more in-depth understanding on how internal audit practices explain effective financial management principles in Tanzania. This can be achieved by applying focus group discussion, interview and other relevant means of data collection apart from survey instrument which is constrained by biasness.