Influence of Audit Committee Competence on Financial Performance of Deposit-Taking SACCOs in Nairobi County, Kenya

There is a continued trend of fraud and poor performance in most SACCOs in Kenya. Despite the presence of audit committees in SACCOs, members'/shareholders' savings have been left at risk of fraud and mismanagement. None of the studies reviewed has focused on the manner in which audit committee competence affects financial performance in DT-SACCOs in developing countries such as Kenya. This study aims to establish the influence of the competence of the audit committee on the financial performance of deposit-taking SACCOs in Nairobi County, Kenya. This study was based on the Lending Credibility Theory. This study used a correlational research design. The study targeted all the 47 deposit-taking SACCOs in Nairobi County, Kenya. Two audit committee members, the CEO, Internal Auditor, Finance Officer and two members in each deposit-taking SACCO formed the unit of observation. Therefore, the target population was 329 respondents. The study adopted census sampling techniques. The researcher used questionnaires for data collection. The study piloted the questionnaire on 25 SACCO members from 5 SACCOs in Kiambu County, representing 10% of the 47 deposit-taking SACCOs in Nairobi County. Qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis and presented in prose form. Quantitative data collected were analyzed using SPSS version 26. To determine the direction and how strongly the variables are related, the study computed Pearson correlation. The influence of independent variables (audit committee competence) on the dependent variable (financial performance of DT-SACCOs in Nairobi County, Kenya) was determined by computing multiple regression analysis. The findings were presented in tables and figures. The study concludes that audit committee competence has a positive and significant effect on the financial performance of deposit-taking SACCOs in Nairobi County, Kenya. The study recommends that the management of Deposit-taking SACCOs in Nairobi County, Kenya, should provide training and capacity-building programs for audit committee members to enhance their skills and knowledge. This should focus on areas such as financial literacy, risk management, and governance practices.