Factors Influencing Effective Use of Epicor Accounting System in Local Government Authorities: The Case of Kasulu Town Council.

Ngaka, Athumani M. (2022) Factors Influencing Effective Use of Epicor Accounting System in Local Government Authorities: The Case of Kasulu Town Council. Masters thesis, The Open University of Tanzania.

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Abstract

Local Government Authorities (LGAs) in Tanzania are currently experiencing low performance in financial management despite adoption of computerised financial management system, Epicor. It appears Epicor is not effectively utilised. This study therefore explores the factors that influence the effective use of Epicor in LGAs. This study had three objectives; to examine the extent to which Epicor used in LGA’s financial activities; to identify factors influencing the effective use of Epicor in Local Government Authorities; and to determine the association between the use of Epicor and effectiveness of LGAs. The study was conducted in Kigoma region, Kisulu Town Council as a case study. This research was underpinned on interpretivism philosophy guided by cross-sectional design. A sample size of 100 respondents was used in data collection survey. Questionnaire was adopted as data collection tool. Quantitative analysis of the findings revealed that, Epicor was mostly used in executing high quality services (4.1), preparing financial report on a timely basis (3.8), audit management (3.6), preparing LGAs budget (3.6), and in the delivery of public service (3.5), where it maximized transparency. Results also indicated that, factors influencing effective use of Epicor system were mainly classified in three categories namely extent of usage of Epicor modules, acquisition of skills, and level of attitude. Further, findings yielded that, there is significant relationship between level of Epicor usage and performance of LGAs. Effective use of Epicor has significant (p<.05) powerful effect on performance of LGAs as it explained 80.4% of the model variation. Furthermore, policy framework needs to be strengthened to support effective use of Epicor. Keywords: Epicor Accounting System, Financial Performance and Staff Capacity

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