Assessing the Internal Financial Control Measures in Selected Secondary Schools in South Africa: The Challenges and Implications

Assessing the Internal Financial Control Measures in Selected Secondary Schools in South Africa: The Challenges and Implications

Sithembele Goodman Ndovela & Sanele Ngcobo

Issue: Vol.6 No.15 Article 24 pp. 4549 – 4561
DOI: https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.202561524| Published online 30th December, 2025
© 2025 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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ABSTRACT

This empirical paper reports on the internal financial control measures in South African Secondary schools. The study’s objective was to determine how School Governing Bodies, through the finance committee, manage school finances. The data was generated using semi-structured interviews with 4 SGB members who were purposively sampled. The participants were part of the finance committee members from the participating schools at the uMgungundlovu Education District. The research findings revealed: (1) Segregation of duties and poor record keeping. (2) The SGB members reported diverse views on the keeping of records of cash inflows and cash outflows. (3) Parental access to the financial statement of the school. This was triggered by the difficult language used by the SGB finance committee. There is no transparency on the usage and reporting of school financial matters. (4) a lack of training of SGB members, especially on the financial management of school funds. Based on the findings, the paper deduces that there must be proper training of SGB members on school financial management. This study recommends the need for monitoring and training finance committee members on school financial management. The study also recommends that the Department of Basic Education should have financial training manuals written in 12 official languages. The submission of financial statements should be done via the links provided by DBE, and the treasurer should be the one submitting financial statements to avoid dictatorship from principals. The paper contributed to the scholarship of financial management, especially regarding the role of SGBs in schools.

Keywords: Internal Control, School Governing Bodies, Financial Accountability, Finance Committee

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ABOUT AUTHOR(S)

Dr. Sithembele Goodman Ndovela is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Education at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Edgewood campus, South Africa. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) from the University of KwaZulu-Natal. His research interests include teaching and learning in Accounting education, especially Accounting threshold concepts. He is a member of the World Education Research Association (WERA) and the South African Education Research Association (SAERA).

Sanele Ngcobo is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Business and Management at the Creative Technology Universitas, Bloemfontein campus, South Africa. He holds a Master of Commerce (M com) from MANCOSA and a Master of Business Administration ( MBA) from Regent Business School. His research interests include business management, entrepreneurship and financial management.

TO CITE ARTICLE

Ndovela, Sithembele Goodman, and Sanele Ngcobo.“Assessing the Internal Financial Control Measures in Selected Secondary Schools in South Africa: The Challenges and Implications,” E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences 6, no. 15 (2025): 4549 – 4561, https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.202561524.