Organisational structure and quality of financial reporting the district local governments of Uganda:

Abstract

This study examined the effect of Organizational structure on Quality of financial reporting of MDLG. The study was guided by the following objectives notably; to assess the relationship between hierarchy of authority and the quality of financial reporting, to assess how the formalization influences the accuracy and timeliness, to assess the relationship between centralization and Quality of financial reporting in Mayuge District Local Government. The study used a cross sectional research design, and a quantitative approach. Data was collected from a target population of 141 employees of MDLG with accessible unit of 66 employees of MDLG, using simple random and purposive sampling techniques. Data were collected with the aid of closed ended questionnaire and Statistical Packages for Social Sciences was employed for analyzing data from which frequency tables, descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation), reliability, validity, correlation, and regression results were obtained. The study findings revealed that there is a positive and a significant effect of hierarchy of authority on the quality of financial reporting, formalization on the accuracy and timeliness and centralization on the quality of financial reporting of MDLG. The study concludes that establishing a well-defined hierarchy where each level of management understands their reporting responsibilities improves on the financial reporting quality of local. Finally, the study recommends that Accountants should utilize the knowledge obtained from education, courses and training to produce high-quality financial statements.