Niekerk, Robert vanJass, Andiswa Oyama2024-05-162024-05-162023https://hdl.handle.net/10539/38495A research report submitted to the Faculty of Management, University of the Witwatersrand, for the degree of Master of Management – in the field of Governance.Concerns about accountability in government continue to pose a serious challenge for the South African government, resulting in poor service delivery and the mismanagement of public resources. This study sought to examine the preparation and review process of the Annual Financial Statements and fiduciary accountability in provincial government expenditure which articulates the annual objectives of departments and how the citizens were serviced by the government fiscus in a particular financial year. The research presents an analysis of the three selected departments in the Gauteng Province; with a specific focus on the Gauteng Department of Education, Human Settlements and the Provincial Treasury. The study aimed to examine financial accountability in relation to the technical processes underlying the gathering of the data for the preparation of the Annual Financial Statements in the selected government departments in the Gauteng Province. Furthermore, the study aimed to understand the financial governance processes and structures and how these processes are institutionalised by the Gauteng Provincial Government to effect financial accountability. The main objectives of the study were to analyse whether there are sufficient processes and procedures in the preparation of Annual Financial Statements in these selected government departments in the Gauteng Province through the examination of the role of the Accounting Officers and the institutional arrangements in the government departments. The study critically focused on the technical process underlying the gathering of the data for the preparation of the Annual Financial Statements and analysed the reasons for the different audit outcomes as expressed by the office of the Auditor-General of South Africa. The study adopted a qualitative methodology, using a case study to investigate how financial governance and accountability are prioritized in an institutional environment such as a government department. The sample size for the study comprised fifteen (15) participants who are in strategic roles in the preparation and review process of the Annual Financial Statements. The data were collected using primary and secondary data sources. The primary data were gathered through semi-structured interviews whilst the secondary data were extracted from various sources such as departmental websites and archives. The study made use of thematic data analysis to analyse the data.en© University of the Witswatersrand, JohannesburgFinancial accountabilitInternal Control measuresAnnual Financial StatementsFinancial Reporting and Audit OutcomesUCTDSDG-8: Decent work and economic growthDissertation