The effects of budgetary control on the management decisions of non-governmental organizations in Uganda

Abstract

Budgeting involves the establishment of predetermined goals, the reporting of actual performance results and evaluation of performance in terms of the predetermined goals. Budgetary control systems are universal and have been considered an essential tool for financial planning. The purpose of budgetary control is to provide a forecast of revenues and expenditures this is achieved through constructing a model of how our business might perform financially speaking if certain strategies, events and plans are carried out. Most firms use budget control as the primary means of corporate internal controls, it provides a comprehensive management platform for efficient and effective allocation of resources. Budgetary controls enable the management team to make plans for the future through implementing those plans and monitoring activities to see whether they conform to the plan, effective implementation of budgetary control is an important guarantee for the effective implementation of budget in the organization. This study examined the budgetary control in Non-Governmental Organizations and its effects on their managements’ decisions. One Non-Governmental Organization (USAID) was selected to represent the entire population of NGOs in Uganda. A descriptive survey (questionnaires) was used in the data collection. The statistical package for social sciences version 17.0 was used to analyze the data using descriptive statistics, including means and standard deviation. The relationship between budgetary controls and management decisions of the NGO was analyzed using correlation and regression analysis. The research findings established that there is a weak positive effect of budgetary control on management decision making of Non-Governmental Organizations in Uganda measured by R square at 14.3%. The research recommends that employees need to be sensitized on budgetary controls and the effect on performance of the organization. It also recommends that other factors that influence management decision making apart from budgetary controls should be investigated by organizations. It also suggests that further research should be done on the same area but a larger sample should be used.