Effectiveness of payroll accounting systems in local government authorities in Tanzania: a case of Kinondoni, Ilala and Temeke municipal councils in Dar es Salaam

This study presents the underlying factors and impacts caused by ineffective payroll accounting system in LGA in Tanzania. The key elements of effective payroll accounting i.e. information quality, system quality, user satisfaction, decision making and the impacts associated with payroll accounting systems remains difficult to measure under the current payroll accounting system. This being the case the research was undertaken with other things to examine the extent of payroll accounting system’s effectiveness. The research employed questionnaire, interview and focused group discussion with various respondents. Also library and web based searches were also employed by the researcher. The overall purposes of the research were thus to examine the major root causes behind the problem of ineffective payroll accounting system to local Government authorities in Tanzania. In order to achieve this objective the researcher evoked on several research techniques to gather various information and useful data to justify the intensification of the problem in Tanzania, particularly in three Municipal Council in Dar es Salaam, i.e. Ilala, Temeke and Kinondoni. The findings indicate that the current payroll accounting system is weak and this ie evidenced by excessive complaints from the employees, increased ghost salaries, excessive loss of government revenue, difficulties in auditing and delay of the payroll feedback information altogether are cited as serious challenges brought about by the ineffective payroll accounting system to local government authorizes in Tanzania. Therefore, the need to create effective payroll accounting system calls for a joint cooperation among stakeholders and the change of attitude in the preparation of the payroll data. Both human personnel and financial resources are both required in addressing the problem of ineffective payroll accounting system to local government authorities in Tanzania.