FINANCIAL CONTROL AND THE FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY OF CATHOLIC CHURCH OWNED INSTITUTIONS IN KENYA

Abstract

The financial sustainability of any institution requires proper management practices for achieving stability and growth. The long-term existence of Catholic Church Owned Institutions (CCOIs) faces obstacles because of insufficient financial control practices. The research examined financial control practices which influence the enduring existence of Kenyan Catholic church owned institutions. The study incorporated concepts from financial sustainability model and stewardship theory. The research adopted a descriptive design structure within the context of positivist philosophy. The research population consisted of the 8,465 CCOIs who work in Kenyan health and educational institutions. A sample of 249 CCOIs worked as the analytical unit based on Cochran's determination method for calculating sample size. The observation unit was composed of directors/CEOs and finance managers who work at CCOIs. Research data was obtained through closed-ended questionnaires administered for the study. The study analyzed data through descriptive statistics and inferential statistics together with SEM. The results showed financial control strongly predicts sustainability because it demonstrated a point estimate of 0.260 which was significant at p < 0.05 (r = 0.751, p < 0.05). The study concludes that for Catholic Church Owned Institutions to achieve long-term financial sustainability, they must implement robust and efficient financial control systems in a consistent and integrated manner.