Investigation of financial management practices in selected Mafikeng schools

Abstract

The purpose of this study is about the investigation of financial practices in selected Mafikeng schools. The financial management of public schools is constantly developing in terms of the financial problems currently facing schools. The school manager and other stakeholders such as School Governing Bodies (SGB) are responsible for financial accountability by improving the school's accounting systems. It has been observed that school managers and SGB's are not skilled to manage financial resources of schools. The problem of this research is that school managers and SGB members are not trained in school financial management practices. As a result, there are no sound operational and accounting systems in place. It is against the stated problem that literature was surveyed. In reviewing literature, different themes related to the problem were explored by quoting them, paraphrasing them, and relating them to the research problem. This research used questionnaires for collecting data. The sample was selected from 1 0 schools in the Mafikeng district. Data analysis gave rise to a set of findings, which mainly revealed a lack of skills in school financial management. The findings are that school managers and the SGB's were not trained in financial management. The study also revealed that most schools do not have financial policies, which is very essential for efficiency and effectiveness in school financial management. The conclusion drawn from the study show that training in financial management for school ma-.n agers and SGB's was necessary. It is also important that the findings of the . research be implemented to improve the accounting systems and overall financial management accountability.