ABSTRACT

Inventory is said to be an idle resource of a finn because about 75% of the assets of a finn are in this fonn, which cannot be used for i1mnediate commitments compared to cash. Poor management especially when the stocks are ordered, received, recorded and stored, many firms or organizations experience losses. It is on the basis a research is intended to be conducted citing TANAPA as a case study. Internal control has been defined as the whole system of control, financial or otherwise, established by the management aimed at carrying out the business of ente1prises in an orderly and efficient manner by safeguarding the assets of the organization, encouraging adherence to the management policies and seeming as far as possible the accuracy and reliability of its records. There are three types of internal controls over inventories, namely, administrative control, accounting controls and physical control. The aim of this study is to assess the internal control system over inventories at the Tanzania national parks. There is no internal control system, however elaborate, that can itself guarantee efficient administration, completeness and accuracy of records. Either it cannot be proof against fraudulent collusion. The study was cross- sectional, prospective organization - based study, which was carried out from October to December 2010. The study population comprised of persom1el involved in keeping records of stocks and establishing internal control policies, that is administration, supplies, and stores sections. A sample of 70 respondents was picked from departments. Self- administered questionnaires were used for interviews: Documentary sources were used to assess the existing procedures of internal control while observation method was applied to assess visual implementation of the procedures.