ABSTRACT

Financial management deals with how to get and utilise the funds in a business in a judicial manner in order for the business enterprise to be profitable. This means proper and efficient use of current assets and it’s an integral part in decision making when a business enterprise or organisation decide on what kind of investment to deal with so that profit will be realised. Financial management practices are the way of doing things in dealing with finance in a business enterprise or organisation. The table banking self help group in Nyandarua County have a challenge of saving and loans.The self help groups do not save enough and have a problem of loan repayment and lack increase in loan volume. This research aimed at looking at the connection of financial management practices and performance of table banking self-help groups in, Nyandarua County, Kenya. The selfhelp groups objectives include to inculcate the saving and banking habits among members, to secure them financial, technical and Moral strength, enable availing of loans for a productive purpose, get financial strength through loans and credit and get advice on how to organize and manage their finances and eventually get the benefits which they share. Financial Management inform about the best and the most basic management of finances so as to attain the set objectives of the social group. Financial management practices considered here include; record keeping, cash flow management, credit evaluation, and debt collection. The performance of table banking self-help groups or the expected outcome is an increase in accumulated savings and an increase in the volume of lending to the members. This research aimed at enquiring about the relationship between the table banking self-help groups financial management practices and the performance of table banking self-help groups. The main objective of the study was to determine the effect of financial management practices on performance of table banking self-help groups in Nyandarua county. The research design that was used is descriptive survey design. A sample of forty table banking self-help groups were selected through proportional allocation. The method of stratified random sampling using wards in Ol Joro orok constituency, Nyandarua County of Kenya were used, in wards simple random sampling was used. The data was collected through a questionnaire administered to the respondents who are officials of the table banking self-help groups. The respondent selected were the chairperson and the treasurer of the table banking self-help group as they were the custodian of the information needed for this study. The data collected was analysed using statistics of description and inferences from the statistical report. The result of data analysis was presented through the use of tables, bar graph, and pie chart. The study was thus intended to provide an answer to whether the performance of a table banking selfhelp group is related in any way to the financial management practices applied. The study found that there is a direct positive correlation between financial management practices as used in table banking self-help groups and the performance of the table banking self-help group. The study recommends that the committee managing table banking self-help groups should consider putting in place robust financial management practices for better return and growth. The study suggest that further research should be undertaken to consolidated these findings especially in other membership social groups. There is also need to research on the social impact of financial management practices and the financial risks facing the table banking self-help groups in Kenya.