Legal Framework and Financial Corporate Compliance in Public Universities in Kenya

Abstract

One of the important components of corporate governance that improves accountability and transparency in an institution's financial management is financial corporate compliance. The emergence of alarming cases of financial impropriety in Kenya's public universities has intensified the demand for financial accountability in the public sector and exposed the boards and management to increasing scrutiny. Public organizations have reported cases of inadequate or absent financial compliance, and public universities have also cited comparable circumstances in audit reports. It is unclear, however, what the causes of this compliance are or what function corporate governance plays in it. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the legal framework on financial corporate compliance at Kenya's public universities. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. The study's target population was 40 accredited public universities in Kenya. The data were gathered through the use of extensive, quasi-structured questionnaires. The study used descriptive statistics such as frequency distribution tables, percentages, and measures of central tendency such as the mean. Chi-square and correlation analysis were used to establish the relationship between the study variables. The study discovered that the legal framework had a considerable impact on financial corporation compliance during the study period and had a favorable impact on it. These results show that Kenya's public universities are accredited by the commission on higher education and operate by its rules, which increases financial corporate compliance.  The study recommends all public universities to be keeping track of all activities required to be adhered to by the public institution finance department more regularly to ensure the smooth running of the institutions. It is also recommended the university management facilitate regular training for the officers in the finance department to equip them with the relevant information of the newly amended policies by the government to govern the finances used to run public universities.