A Project submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for conferment of the degree of master in Business Administration of Meru University of Science and Technology

Includes references and appendices

Strategic controls are the process used by firms to monitor and align implementation of strategic
plans. The study sought to identify the relationship between of strategic controls on financial
performance of deposit taking SACCOS in Meru County, Kenya. The objectives for the study
were: to determine the relationship between implementation controls and financial performance of
deposit taking SACCOS; to establish the relationship between premises controls and financial
performance of deposit taking SACCOS; to investigate the relationship between surveillance
controls and financial performance of deposit taking SACCOS in Meru County, Kenya. The target
population for the study was 1361 employees of deposit taking SACCOs in Meru County. Cluster
sampling was used to identify various clusters while in each cluster simple random sampling was
used to select the respondents. The respondents for the study were Chief Executive Officers,
Branch Managers, and Operations Managers, Sales managers, Human resource Managers and
other employees working under these departments. The study employed descriptive research
design. Questionnaire was used to collect primary data. Multiple linear regression will be used to
explore the relationship between the variables under study. A pilot test will be carried out in
Tharaka-Nithi County deposit taking SACCOS to ensure validity and reliability of data. A
Cronbach alpha coefficient of above 0.7 was obtained for all the variable under the study. Data
will be analyzed using statistical partners for social Service (SPSS) software. The study revealed
that: implementation controls had 82.3% agreement, B = 1.653, p < .05; premises controls
had55.7% agreement and B = 1.334, p <.05; Surveillance controls had an agreement of 60.4% and
ẞ = .503, p < .05; while the moderating variable had agreement of 60.4% and B = -2.048. The
findings revealed that the three independent variables which are Implementation controls, Premise
Controls and Surveillance Controls were statistically significant and positively related to
performance of DT-SACCOS in Meru County. All the three null hypotheses were tested at 5%
level of significance were rejected. The conclusion was that strategic controls implemented by DT
SACCOS in Meru County have positive relationship on financial performance. The study
recommends SACCOS to put greater emphasis in strategic controls in order to enhance financial
performance.