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The upper Echelons Theory reiterates the importance of top management in an organization and recognizes that the mangers make decisions that grow the entity. Before the establishment of this theory, the premise was that larger firms which drive high amounts of income, are capable of running themselves without failure. Although Organizations that command large amounts of income are deemed to be successful the upper echelons theory holds that these entities cannot be successful without proper management and guidance by top management where the board of directors in this case is considered as top management organ for SACCOs. Savings and Credit Cooperatives (SACCOs) have evolved over time from mobilizing savings and granting loans to become established entities that provide banking services to their customers. They require good governance to avoid the experience of financial distress. The current research was therefore aimed at establishing the influence of firm revenue on the relationship between board characteristics and financial distress of deposit taking SACCOs in Nairobi County. Large entities command more revenue as compared to small firms. Board Characteristics is of importance to this study because it influences Corporate Governance which according to previous research has shown that the practice helps revolutionize performance of various institutions. The study is guided by upper echelons theory which reiterates the importance of top management. Descriptive research design was adopted while Nairobi County was purposively chosen and a census was carried out on deposit taking SACCOs in the county. Secondary data was collected from SASRA using a data collection sheet and a panel data analysis performed using STATA software and findings were presented using tables. The study concluded that firm revenue does not mediate the relationship between board characteristics and financial distress of Deposit Taking SACCOs. Though firm revenue should be enhanced, governance should be improved since it remains a critical success factor in alleviation of financial distress.

The importance of Savings and Credit Cooperatives (SACCOs) cannot be underestimated. Despite their importance, they are faced with numerous challenges among them financial distress which threatens their very existence. The current research sought to establish the role of board characteristics in the financial distress suffered by Deposit Taking SACCOs in Nairobi County. The study is anchored inter alia on Agency Theory. Descriptive research design was adopted while Nairobi County was purposively chosen and a census was carried out on deposit taking SACCOs in the county. Secondary data was collected from SASRA using a data collection sheet and a panel data analysis performed using STATA software. The findings were presented using tables. The study concluded that there was a relationship between board characteristics and financial distress of Deposit Taking SACCOs where board composition, board education and board tenure have statistically significant and negative influence on financial distress. In conclusion SACCOs need to have lean boards, Board composition should also be improved by including more women on boards, there should be more inclusion of members with high and relevant education credentials, and SACCOs should have term limits for their members while an analysis too based on the Altman’s Z score models should be adopted for SACCOs. Another research may be carried out to establish other factors causing financial distress and how to turn around the SACCOs already in distress.

The study investigated the whether the default measures of liquidity and solvency are associated and whether default measures are related to firm profitability. A total of 41 firms were selected to be in the study sample out of 46 non-financial listed firms in the Nairobi Securities Exchange during years 2013 to 2017 and panel data regression analysis was employed. The findings revealed that liquidity and solvency are significantly and negatively associated while the default measures lacked a significant relationship with profitability in Kenyan listed companies. The findings implied that there is no need for firms to focus too much on the relationship between default and profitability including invest heavily in liquidity in order to meet short term obligations as nowadays it is possible for firms to either convert non-cash assets quickly or borrow on short notice from financial institutions in case of an urgent need to meet liquidity shortages. These findings are consistent with the shitability theory.

This study sought to evaluate the relationship between equity unit trust fund flows measured as purchases and sales and the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) stock market return. The study employed Vector Autoregressive model and tested for Granger causality using monthly data for the period starting January 2010 to December 2017. The granger causality results showed that equity fund sales contain information that can explain stock market return and stock market return contain information that can explain equity fund purchases thus unidirectional causality. Impulse response results showed that equity fund purchases have a predominantly positive relationship with NSE stock market return and NSE stock market return have a positive relationship with equity fund purchases. This implies that an increase in stock market return will lead equity fund managers to purchase more securities and as the equity fund purchases increase, the demand for those stocks will increase causing the stock prices to increase and consequently increase stock market return. In contrast, equity fund sales are predominantly negatively related with stock market return and stock market return is also negatively related to equity funds sales. As the stock market return increase, the equity fund managers will decrease their sales. As the sales increase, the supply for those stocks will increase causing a decrease in prices and consequently a decrease in stock market return. Equity fund sales explain the variation in stock market return more than equity fund purchases while stock market return is a determinant of equity fund purchases and equity fund sales.

Worldwide, Small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) exhibit inimitable financial needs. While SMEs remain fundamental to economic growth, their mortality rate in Kenya approaches 90% by the second year, mainly owing to lack of credit. However, scholarly endeavors exploring the impact of alternative finance (AF) on managerial competency - efficiency nexus for manufacturing SMEs have received little attention in Kenya. To resolve this conundrum, a thorough study to investigate how AF impacts managerial competency - efficiency nexus is necessary. The study used a cross-sectional research design, employing both qualitative and quantitative research approaches. The target population was 171 SMEs registered with Kenya Association of Manufacturers. The accessible population was 136 SMEs owners/managers. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect primary and secondary data. Data envelopment analysis was used to measure efficiency, multiple regression modeling used to analyze the direct relationships while hierarchical moderated multiple regression analysis employed to test moderation. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling was used to test robustness of our results. The findings of this study demonstrate that managerial competency positively influences efficiency (? = 0.150, t-value =10.246, P<0.05), and that alternative finance does moderate managerial competency relationships with efficiency (R-Square change of 21.7%). We suggest trainings for manufacturing SME owners/managers in Kenya on the pivotal role of alternative finance to facilitate SMEs achieve higher efficiencies and accelerate economic growth.

<p>Operational risk threatens banks financial viability and long-term sustainability. The purpose of this paper is to explore the effect of operational risk on financial performance of commercial banks in Kenya. The qualitative research design and ordered logistic model were employed. The data was analysed with the aid of STATA software. The conclusion of the study was that there exists an inverse relationship between operational risk and financial performance. The study also finds that bank size moderates the effect internal and external fraud on financial performance of commercial banks in Kenya by shrinking it. Bank size moderates the effect execution, delivery and process management on financial performance of commercial banks in Kenya by enhancing it. The guidelines and procedures provided by the Central bank of Kenya on operational risk management should be fully adhered into.</p>