Theses and Dissertations
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Item Effect Of Audit Committee Characteristics On Fraud Detection In State Ministries In Kenya.(KCA University, 2017) Atieno, Lilian V.This study sought to determine the effect of audit committee characteristics on fraud reduction in state ministries in Kenya. The study used a descriptive research design. The population for the study was the 20 government ministries. The study used secondary sources of data because it saved a lot of time as compared to conducting interviews and also enabled the study to collect objective data. The study covered a period of three years which was sufficient for establishing the relationship between audit committee characteristics and number of fraud incidences. Panel data was obtained from treasury, transparency international and the ministries whereby data on the specific variables under investigation was extracted from annual reports, financial statements and records. A document analysis guide was prepared to guide the researcher in collection of data on audit committee characteristics and number of fraud incidences in all the 20 state ministries in Kenya. Data was analysed using Stata data analysis and statistical software. Descriptive statistics used entailed mean analysis, minimum, maximum and standard deviation. To test the research hypothesis on the effect of audit committee characteristics on fraud reduction, the study adopted fixed effects panel data model. Results from the study indicate that number of audit committee meetings (β = -0.4385; p < 0.05) and expertise of the audit committees (β = - 0.4593; p < 0.05) had negative and significant effect on the incidences of fraud in the state ministries. The study also established that tenure of the audit committees had a significant positive effect on incidences of fraud in the state ministries in Kenya (β = 0.3601; p < 0.05). Size of the audit committee (β = 1.5284; P > 0.05) and independence of audit committees (β = -0.1546; p > 0.05) did not have a significant effect on fraud incidences in the ministries. Following the findings from the study, the following recommendations were made. First, ministries in Kenya should ensure that they have audit committee members who have expertise in finance, accounting auditing. Secondly, the ministries should adhere to the statutory provision which indicates that audit committees should have at least four meetings in a year. Lastly the study recommends to the ministries to ensure that tenure of audit committee members are shortened. Having longer tenure is expected to erode independence and objectivity of the members and hence jeopardize their ability to deal with their monitoring role.Item Internal Factors Influencing External Auditors Independence Among Practicing Accountants In Kenya(KCA University, 2017) Omondi, Harrison M.Auditor independence holds sway in ensuring that the public has confidence in financial reporting. The general setting within which audit decisions made and audit independence formed is evolving rapidly due to competitive and regulatory changes. Policy makers must work continuously to evaluate the critical threat factors and develop appropriate independence principles. This study sought to establish the determinants of auditors’ independence in Kenya. Four research aims guided the study: to determine the influence of economic factors on auditors’ independence in Kenya: to establish the impact of regulatory factors on auditors’ independence in Kenya; to establish the effect of firm factors on auditors’ independence in Kenya and to establish the challenges faced in establishing auditors’ independence in Kenya. The study employed a cross-sectional descriptive study with a sample size of 214 audit firms and the target population in the study were practising accountants in Kenya. Primary data was collected using a semi-structured questionnaire and the data analysed through statistical software (SPPS) versions 22 through ordinal regression analysis to present the findings. The study established that internal factors influence auditor independence by 31.7%. From the results of the research, it also revealed that there is a significant relationship between audit tenure, audit firm size and audit independence. This was indicated with a p-value of 0.029 and 0.009. The study also established that there is no significant relationship between audit committee and audit independence with a p-value of 0.465. The study concludes that audit tenure and firm size affect audit independence and thereby the study recommends the need for ICPAK to develop a policy that will guide audit tenure and audit committee.