Budget alignment policy and realisation of organisational strategic goals: a case study of amnesty commission-Uganda.

Abstract

The study assessed the relationship between "Budget Alignment Policy and Realisation of Organisational Strategic Goals; A Case Study of Amnesty Commission-Uganda". This was guided by the following specific objectives to; establish the extent to which Cost estimations based on plans influence achievement of Organizational strategic goals, assess how Translating plans into operational objectives affect achievement of Organizational strategic goals and examine whether aligning plans to financial targets affect achievement of Organizational strategic goals. The methodology adopted a case study research design to carry out the study. This involved the use of qualitative and quantitative techniques for data collection. The target population was 85 respondents from the a sample size of 70 respondents were selected using Morgan and Krejcie(l 970), sample size table. The research also used both primary and secondary data. The study tools used were questionnaire forms and interview guides to collect information from different respondents. The analysis was done using Special Package for Social Scientists (SPSS). Findings from the test revealed that budget alignment positively influenced realization of strategic organisational goals at Amnesty Commission-Uganda. The results revealed that budget enables mobilization of resources and maximizes proper utilization of resources in the adequate and correct ways and that Amnesty Commission-Uganda was facing the problem of poor resource allocation mechanism characterized by both misappropriation and limited funding. According to the findings it is recommended that Amnesty Commission-Uganda should be careful in setting the goals for the financial year by making sure that those goals must be achievable in order to avoid wastage of resources. Also an effective management system should deal with all relevant aspects while an efficient financial management system does this with little use of resources by being integrated and focused on identified aspects including both risks and opportunities. A flexible management system should easily adapt to new requirements without losing effectiveness or efficiency. The study recommended that, there is need for more enlightenment of community members about the benefits and importance of budget alignment in the public sector through carrying out seminars, workshops and effective sensitization. Thus, there is a need to integrate strategic management and budgeting. The study suggests that further research should be conducted to examine the impact of budgeting systems on financial management in financial institutions. Amnesty Commission-Uganda highlights the importance of taking both the planning procedures and the budgeting framework of the country into consideration in the earliest stages of the budgetary planning process.