Abstract:
The study sought to examine the effect of audit committee effectiveness on financial accountability in local governments, with specific focus on audit committee independence, audit committee expertise, and audit committee meeting frequency. A cross-sectional research design was adopted and data were collected from 52 respondents using structured questionnaires. Reliability of the research instrument was tested through a pilot study, and Cronbach’s Alpha coefficients exceeded the 0.7 threshold, confirming internal consistency. Data were analyzed using both correlation and regression techniques. The findings revealed a significant positive relationship between audit committee independence and financial accountability (r = 0.629, p < 0.01), audit committee expertise and financial accountability (r = 0.672, p < 0.01), and audit committee meeting frequency and financial accountability (r = 0.719, p < 0.01). Regression results further indicated that audit committee independence explained 38.4% of the variance in financial accountabilit, audit committee expertise explained 44.0%, while audit committee meeting frequency explained 50.8%. These results underscore the crucial role of audit committees in promoting accountability in local government financial management. The study concludes that enhancing the independence, expertise, and meeting frequency of audit committees significantly improves financial accountability. It recommends that local governments should strengthen institutional frameworks that guarantee audit committee autonomy, enhance the technical competence of committee members through continuous professional development, and ensure regular and well-structured meetings. The study acknowledges limitations such as the cross-sectional design, small sample size, and reliance on self-reported data. Future research should employ longitudinal and mixed-method approaches to validate and expand the findings across different local government contexts.
