This study seeks to comprehensively examine the internal audit practices for fraud management within Centenary Bank, with the goal of evaluating the effectiveness of current approaches and identifying opportunities for improvement. As the perpetration of fraud continues to rise at an alarming rate within both public and private sector organizations in Uganda, resulting in massive financial losses each year, it has become imperative for companies like Centenary Bank to strengthen preventive and detective controls through enhanced internal audit functions. While internal audit represents a key line of defense against fraud, recent research indicates the internal audit roles in many Ugandan firms have yet to be fully developed and leveraged in combating fraudulent acts. Through a qualitative case study methodology utilizing documentary analysis and semi-structured interviews with Centenary Bank’s internal auditors and anticorruption officers, this research aims to provide a detailed assessment of the bank’s existing fraud risk management practices. From the findings, there was a positive correlation between internal auditing and fraud detection ( r= 0.615). Findings further indicated that there was a significance correlation between internal audit and fraud detection in cheap hardware. By benchmarking Centenary Bank’s approaches against fraud prevention best practices promulgated by leading standard-setting bodies, the study seeks to identify performance gaps. Recommendations will then be provided to strengthen the internal audit function’s role in supporting the organization’s antibribery and corruption efforts through advanced fraud detection, prevention and response protocols. The top management should give more attention f o r the fraud related asset and that fraud related to financial reporting.

This research was aimed at the role of local revenue collection and service delivery in lower local government in Nansana Municipality Kampala. The study was based on three main objectives which were :- to find out the methods of revenue collection in Nansana Municipality Kampala, to find out how revenue collected has helped in service delivery in local governments and to find out the challenges faced in revenue collection in Nansana Municipality Kampala. The researcher obtained a letter of introduction from Bishop Stuart University research unit, which was presented to the officer in charge of Nansana Municipality Kampala. Local Government where the researcher’s case study was based. The researcher used both qualitative and quantitative research designs with a sample of 50 respondents who included the staff of Nansana Municipality Kampala. Local government. Qualitative data was obtained through questionnaires, interviews and observation while quantitative data was obtained through computation and analysis. The research findings showed the challenges faced by the District Local Government such as; political interference, tax evasion and tax avoidance, how revenue collection could be improved and how local revenue had a strong impact on service delivery in local governments. Using Pearson’s correlation of coefficient, it signified that revenue collection had a strong positive correlation with service delivery (r=0.42). The researcher concluded that local governments have challenges in revenue collection but such challenges were not beyond control. Basing on the findings the researcher concluded that revenue collection has a great impact on service delivery. This could be evidenced with poor service delivery with a decline local revenue collection and improved service delivery with a rise in revenue collection. However, the researchers recommended measures to improve on revenue collection like training tax collectors, sensitizing the masses. The researcher suggested that future studies should be conducted to analyze any other factors that affect revenue collection as well as service delivery in local governments.

The study assessed the role of child protection services in addressing child abuse: a case study of Ngarama Sub County Isingiro District. It was guided by the following objectives; to find out the forms of child abuse, to find out services available to protect children from being abused and to establish measures to address cases of child abuse. This study employed a cross sectional research design. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches were applied. During the research, the study targeted the parents, children, city probation officer and social workers. The total sample for the study was 50 respondents. Both quantitative and qualitative data analysis methods were used in the study. The study findings indicated that there are cases of child abuse in Ngarama Sub County Isingiro District. These included; physical abuse, psychological abuse and social abuse. The examples of case of child abuse included; denial of food, punishments, sexual abuse, denial of education, child neglect among others. The study findings showed that there are services available to protect children from being abuse. It was concluded there are different kinds of child abuse in Ngarama Sub County Isingiro District. That is physical abuse, psychological abuse and social abuse. Child abuse is caused by poverty, alcoholism, orphanage, food insecurity, early marriages, no family planning, marrying many wives. It was also concluded that children are given psychosocial support; abused children are given legal support, cases of child abuse are reported to probation officer; children are given all the basic needs such as food, shelter, clothing, education, health care among others; there is advocacy about the control of child abuse in this community; children are brought up in good morals. It was further concluded that there is need for effective follow-ups of child abuse. victims should be made, the government and other stakeholder should fund projects addressing cases of child abuse in the community; parents, guardians and educators should be interested in the moral education of the children. It was recommended that parents, guardians and educators should be interested in the moral education of the children. Parents should be encouraged to practice family planning so as to have the number of children they can conveniently cater for. Government should enact laws against child abuse.

This study was conducted to find out the effect of motivation on employee performance of Bukedea district local government (BDLG), based on the objectives to examine the effect of motivation on employee performance, find out the effect of remuneration on employee performance as well as the effect fringe benefits on employee performance of employees at BDLG. The researcher used analytical research design to establish a relationship between exhaust all areas in the research. Sample size of 30 employees from various departments was used; sampling techniques used were purposive and simple random sampling techniques. Questionnaires and interviews were used to collect data which was processed by recording, editing, tabulation and coding. The findings revealed that motivation affects the performance of employees positively and negatively when motivational to ols are not in place, employee's morale decreases. Then decline in performance, absenteeism. Positively motivational tools such as allowances, training and appreciation improve employee's morale and performance. The respondents agreed that motivational tools such as fringe benefits, promotion, and remuneration improve e mp lo ye e ’ s level of performance. The researcher recommended that BDLG should consider mentorship and coding the training its staff to equip them with more skills in order to improve their performance, BDLG should also find a way of improving on early payment of salaries and wages. Finally the researcher recommended the areas for further study which were getting the right motivation tool for a given employee and the impact of employee's health and safety measures on their level of motivation.

The aim of this study was to analyze auditing as an instrument for organizational success. The specific objectives of the study were; to determine the effect of expertise of the internal auditing staff on the performance of organizations, to examine the effect of internal audit controls on the performance of organizations and lastly, to investigate the effect of top management support of internal Audit on performance of organizations. The study was underpinned on two theories namely the agency theory and institutional theory. Thus, the target population of the study was 57 people. The study followed a descriptive study design. Primary data was collected by the use of questionnaires. Descriptive techniques through the use of descriptive statistics such as mean, frequency, percentages and standard deviations were used. Content analysis was used to collect the qualitative data. Data analysis was done through the use of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Data was then presented using tables and figures. The relationship between variables was achieved through the use of multiple regression analysis. The results indicated that internal audit had positive and significant effect (p-value of 0.001) on performance of public commissions in Uganda. Internal audit expertise had a p-value of 0.0 which meant it had a positive and significant effect on performance. Internal audit controls had a p-value of 0.210 which resulted to positive and but non-significant effect on performance. Top management support of internal audit had a p-value of 0.000 which implied it had a positive and significant effect on performance. The study recommends that managers and policy makers should pay attention to internal audit staff expertise for it has the greatest effect on performance of public commissions.

This study entitled budgetary financing and service delivery, a case study of Kayunga district was carried out which had the following objectives to find out the relationship between borrowing and service delivery in Kayunga Local government, to find out the relationship between local revenue collection and service delivery in Kayunga local government and lastly to find out the relationship between Government transfers and service delivery among local governments in Uganda. The study covered the last 2 financial years that is 2021/2022 and 2022/2023. The results also show that most funding is from central government in term of conditional, unconditional and equalization grants however manager have to co-ordinate /follow for the released so that what is planned and approved is implemented however local revenue should be mobilized by political leaders especially the trading license, hotel tax and local service tax to increased contribution of local revenue in implementation of decentralized services. The study confirmed that, financial mobilization had not been efficiently utilized, the central government does not even release 100% of the allocated IPFs (Indicative Planning Figures) and there has always been revenue shortfall at the end of each financial year hence some activities are not implemented due to that, this partly contributed to low level of service delivery. Central government should reintroduce G-tax so that revenue based for local government increased; when community contribute towards service delivery the make government accountable hence improved service delivery.

This qualitative study examined the impact of cash flow management on the success of small and medium sized enterprises in Imaniro sub county Mayuge district with an adoption of a descriptive research design with inclusion of both qualitative and quantitative methods under the response rate of 133 respondents. It was guided by corporate finance theory and neoclassical capital theory that states that the corporation aims at maximizing shareholders wealth. The study undertook the effect that cash flow management in form of cash forecast, cost optimization and cash/financial monitoring has on business success and the results showed an affirmative effect that in absence of such management systems it is imperative to obtain a downfall among all businesses in Imaniro sub county Mayuge district. The study found out that 79 (60%) of the study’s respondents strongly agreed that cash forecast are essential in developing data driven strategies, 36 (27%) also agreed while 3 (2%) were not sure with the statement however, 13 (10%) disagreed to the statement and 2 (1%) strongly disagreed to the statement. It was therefore recommended that all enterprises in Imaniro Sub County to recruit business management qualified personnel’s if they are to obtain the best from their investments. Mayuge shoppers’ supermarket as the largest shopping mart in the town is managed by unqualified personnel’s in terms of cash flow management and this has caused the business to lose a lot of money in terms of expenses to employees and distributors. Therefore, there should be and a recruitment of a qualified business management administrator to tackle such problems.

The study aimed at contract administration and performance of an organisation with a case of national water and sewage corporation Kampala branch and examined the intricate relationship between contract administration practices and organizational performance within the National Water and Sewage Corporation (NWSC) Kampala branch. The research aimed to identify the impact of effective contract management on the operational efficiency and overall performance of the organization. This investigation employed a mixed-method approach, combining both qualitative and quantitative data collection techniques. Primary data were gathered through structured questionnaires distributed to a sample of 200 employees, including managers and staff directly involved in contract administration at NWSC. The findings revealed that meticulous contract administration significantly contributed to improved performance metrics at NWSC. Specifically, the study demonstrated that well-managed contracts led to higher profit margins, effective cost control, and enhanced service delivery. Furthermore, proper contract management was identified as a critical factor in ensuring successful project completion and fostering positive supplier relationships. A majority of respondents (70%) strongly agreed that effective contract management is pivotal to business success, highlighting its role in mitigating risks and ensuring compliance with contractual obligations. However, the study also uncovered challenges associated with contract administration, such as the perceived tediousness of the process and the lack of adequate training for staff. Despite these challenges, the importance of maintaining accurate and comprehensive records of all transactions was emphasized by 71% of participants, underscoring its role in sustaining organizational efficiency and accountability. The government should give support to audit companies so as to encourage the independence of such companies and avoid being corrupted in one way or the other. This can be in form of subsidizing the existing firms.

The study aimed at credit management and organizational performance. a case study of centenary bank Kawempe branch and it was guided by the following objectives; To find out the effect of credit management on the financial performance of Centenary bank, to find out procedures which ensure the collection of debt, meeting of service targets and the prevention of escalation in arrear debt and to examine the financial performance of Centenary bank. The total population of the study was 100 people. Sampling was the process of selecting units (people, organizations) from a population of interest so that by studying the sample we may fairly generalize our results back to the population from which they were chosen and therefore, it comprised of staff of 10 employees, 2 managers, 38 customers who were randomly selected. The study established that majority of the respondents strongly agreed that interest rates charged affect performance of loans in the bank as shown by a mean of 1.28 (Ivan et al., 2023a), Credit committees involvement in making decisions regarding loans are essential in reducing default/credit risk as shown by a mean I .40 other agreed that, The use of credit checks on regular basis enhances credit management, Penalty for late payment enhances customers commitment to loan repayment as shown by a mean 1.64 in each case. The study also recommends that there is need for banks to enhance their client appraisal techniques so as to improve their financial performance. Through client appraisal techniques, the banks will be able to know credit worth clients and thus reduce their non-performing loans.

The study sought to assess the effect of financial management practices on performance of small and medium enterprises in Kampala district, Uganda. It was guided by three specific objectives, which included; to determine the effect of financial reporting on performance of small and medium enterprises in Kampala district, to establish the effect of working capital management on performance of small and medium enterprises in Kampala district and to establish the effect of budgeting on performance of small and medium enterprises in Kampala district. This research employed survey and descriptive research design to describe the variables. Descriptive surveys were used to discover causal relationships (descriptive correlation) to provide precise quantitative description and to observe behavior. The data gathered was collected, coded into the computer and statistically treated using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Quantitative data analysis was employed in this research study. The findings revealed that financial reporting among SMEs was rated satisfactory, and this is indicated by the overall mean of 3.5, implying that the owners of SMEs; working Capital Management was rated satisfactory with the overall mean of 3.69, as well budgeting among SMEs was rated satisfactory, and this was indicated by the overall mean of 3.44 and profitability was moderate, and this is indicated by the overall mean of 3.4 among SMEs. Moreover, financial reporting significantly affects performance of SMEs this led to a significant effect of Financial reporting on performance of SMEs; working capital management significantly affects the performance of thus Working capital management had a significant effect on performance of small and medium scale enterprise and finally, budgeting significantly affects performance of SMEs therefore, budgeting has a significant effect on performance of small and medium scale enterprise in Kampala district. The researcher concluded that effective financial reporting is an important factor in determining the level of performance of SMEs since financial reporting is based on cash conversion cycle and still considered as an important factor in enhancing the performance of SMEs, in order to increase the financial performance, SMEs in Kampala District have tried to maintain an optimal balance between each of the working capital components such as cash receivables, inventory and payables and finally, as a way of increasing on the level of performance, small and medium enterprises in Kampala District have always considered budgeting as an important factor when obtaining bank credit as banks commonly require a projection of future operations and cash flows to support loans, this has also led to the improvement in performance due to checking of progress towards the objectives of the enterprise. The researcher recommended that; small and medium business owners should develop a good system to monitor finance payments, record and track all the finance payments so that there is effectiveness in payment of cash and ensure to cover loopholes in the system to enhance financial performance. Small and medium enterprise business owners and managers should develop an effective working capital management Received: 19.06.2024 Accepted: 23.06.2024 Published on: 30.06.2024 Corresponding: Author: research@miu.ac.ug/publications 442 Metropolitan Journal Of Business & Economics ISSN: 1813-4238 Vol. 3 Issue 6, June2024, Pages: 442-469 system for example alternative ways of collecting funds from which makes finance collection easy and flexible to boost performance.