Budgeting And Budgetary Control Predictors of Financial Performance in Ghana: An Analytical Review Of Community-Based Credit Unions (CCUs)

Abstract

Credit unions have been in existence in Ghana for decades and have impacted positively on the lives of many citizens. The unions provide financial services to people in remote areas which facilitates economic growth and poverty alleviation. In spite of their crucial role, it is unclear what factors impact their performance. Our study sought to assess how budget and budgetary control activities contribute to the performance of credit unions in Ghana.  The study adopted a cross sectional descriptive research design. We selected 27 out of 35 community-based Cooperative credit unions as study sites. We collected data using a questionnaire. Thematic content analysis was used to analyze the data. The findings show that budgeting activities (such as budget planning, implementation, evaluation, etc), contributed to the performance of credit unions. We recommend that the management of credit unions provide adequate resources to ensure efficient preparation and implementation of budgets.