Financial Controls And Cash Flow Management In Small Scale Enterprises Of Naka Wa Division, Kampala, Uganda

ABSTRACT 

The study was to correlate between financial controls and cash flow management among small scale enterprises in Nakawa division. It was guided by the following objectives; to determine the profile of small scale enterprises in terms of ownership, gender, years in existence and type of goods dealt, to determine the quality of financial controls among small scale enterprises, to determine the extent of cash flow management among small scale enterprises and to determine the relationship between financial controls and cash flow management among small scale enterprises in Nakawa division. The study used a survey research design involving quantitative and qualitative designs to correlate financial control and cash flow management in small scale enterprises. This is because it involves a big sample of respondents on which detailed analytical explanatory qualitative as well as quantitative research wa~ conducted. Qualitative research design was employed because it emphasizes linguistic data, as opposed to numerical data while quantitative method was used to collect data on numerical variables. It was discovered that financial management helps organizations to achieve their missions and strategic objectives by ensuring resources are effectively collected and used, and accurately accounted for. Therefore financial management covers many aspect of the business such as credit risk, performance indicators, information and management systems, the administrative budget and market risks. Financial management can be improved by increasing borrowing (lending), or by putting more money into the business. It was established that most business people used manual accounting system in their businesses other than computerised accounting systems. Financial records of the business consists of the purchases, sales records and profits. The findings reveal that business enterprises keep creditors and debtors records. The components of cash inflows include; invoices, cash books and debtors account. There are also cheques, receipts and ledgers. The study recommends that small scale enterprises should put more convenient and less cumbersome processes for accessing financial products if they are to cater for the small business groups.