INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND SCIENTIFIC INNOVATION (IJRSI)  
ISSN No. 2321-2705 | DOI: 10.51244/IJRSI |Volume XII Issue X October 2025  
Detective Accounting Controls on Financial Performance of Selected  
SMEs in Bujumbura, Burundi  
Evelyne Maniratunga & Christine Osinde  
PhD students Department of Economics, Finance and Accounting  
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.51244/IJRSI.2025.1210000326  
Received: 26 October 2025; Accepted: 04 November 2025; Published: 21 November 2025  
ABSTRACT  
Background: Small and medium-sized businesses are a major part of the global economy and they have widely  
recognized impact to the Burundian economy and have a wide range of job opportunities at around 85% and  
created substantial social benefits for Burundi. Small businesses in Burundi are mainly family-owned and  
contribute to bad products that do not count for the market because the lack of creative nature and skills is more  
common in these businesses. However, there are poor financial accounting procedures for SMEs in Burundi, as  
well as separate responsibilities and trust in an exaggerated percentage of workers which means that the poor  
performance of these Burundian Small and Medium Enterprises is attributed to mismanagement. The aim of the  
report was to determine the influence of detective accounting controls on financial performance of selected  
SMEs in Bujumbura city, Burundi.  
Materials &Methods: The research used survey design. It adopted descriptive and inferential statistics and was  
guided by Consistency Theory, Stewardship Theory and Agency Theory. The target population was 1463  
workers from the 10 selected companies in Bujumbura City, Burundi who are beneficiaries of the investment  
code identified by API for getting real information. The researcher utilized a representative sample of 314  
workers. To gather data both closed and open-ended questions were involved. The findings were presented using  
tables and graphs. Research instruments’ validity was ascertained through test re-test. Cronbach's alpha was  
utilized to test the internal coefficient of alpha exceeding 0.7 as accurate. Data has been analysed through  
inferential and descriptive statistics. For inferential statistics, Multiple regression as well as Pearson correlation  
were adopted  
Results: The actual total ranking of Detective accounting controls in the selected SMEs in Bujumbura, Burundi  
had just been at 72.5% (mean=3.629, standard deviation=0.724) minor effect.  
The standardized regression outcomes have been discovered most effective; = 0.568, t = 14.398, p=0.000 <0.05;  
Therefore, the findings showed that there was an overall favorable connection among both detective accounting  
controls and financial performance (r-square = 0.407 < 0.5, p = 0.000< 0.05).  
Summary: The analysis found a significant connection in both detective accounting controls and the financial  
performance of the small and medium sized enterprises in Bujumbura City, Burundi.  
Key words: Detective accounting controls, financial performance, SMEs, Burundi  
INTRODUCTION  
Globally, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are like the backbone of economies across all the countries. The  
contribute to creation of jobs, employment, and play a vital role in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) economic  
development (Harash, 2017). In the last decade, the small and medium enterprises have become critically  
important to the global economy. They are not only regarded as vital for sustained growth in world economies,  
but also regarded as the principal driving force of economic development (Ntim, 2014). The global economy has  
been undergoing through rapid industrialization and all other development aims of nations can be realized  
through the SMEs. The increased government and other stakeholder efforts are what have seen the SMEs succeed  
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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND SCIENTIFIC INNOVATION (IJRSI)  
ISSN No. 2321-2705 | DOI: 10.51244/IJRSI |Volume XII Issue X October 2025  
worldwide, and especially in Africa (Nandom et al., 2017). Due to the significant contributions to the economies  
of both the developed plus developing countries, SMEs have got a lot of international attention as well as  
importance in the past few years (Ntim, 2014).  
Small and Medium-Sized businesses, regardless of dimensions, need only to grow and remain successful in the  
Market (Harash, 2017). However, as Burundi is a small landlocked country and the demand market is very small  
today to produce on a large scale and its recent past is characterized by political conflicts and insecurity, the  
search for suitable financial partners and institutional support are the main obstacles for small and medium-sized  
enterprises (Nandom et al., 2017). The growth of the Burundian private sector is extremely important because it  
has a major impact on economic development by creating jobs, new products and facilitating exports. There is  
no chance of exporting the surplus because neighboring countries have more population and better production  
costs. This is due to the increased cost of goods, so it is not easy to export these goods produced by small and  
medium-sized enterprises. In most cases, imports from the surrounding countries are cheaper than local  
production.  
Small businesses in Burundi are mainly family-owned and contribute to bad products that do not count for the  
market because lack of creative nature and skills is more common in these businesses. However, there are poor  
financial accounting procedures for SMEs in Burundi, as well as separate responsibilities and trust in an  
exaggerated percentage of workers which means that the poor profitability of these SMEs in Burundi is attributed  
to mismanagement. And it is clear that Small businesses themselves have significant problems in achieving the  
desired quality due to the fact that there is no properly functioning and balanced financial system.  
According to (Ntim, 2014), accounting controls provide interventions related to asset security and accounting  
and financial information reliability. External controls are external checks and according to (Lartey et al., 2020),  
internal checks relate to initiatives and procedures established and enforced by the board committees of the  
Corporation, to promote its operational performance, financial reporting, enforcement goals plus expectations  
of the main stakeholders with regard to the internal control systems. The AICPA (American Institute of Certified  
Public Accountants) notes that accounting control is the way to register, considerably identify and summarize in  
cash, transactions and activities that are partly profitable (CPA, 2014).  
Detection tests are monitors intended to identify and reveal issues as a result of commitments like fraud,  
irregularities and errors (Nandom et al., 2017). These tests show a loss, but they do not prevent the loss.  
Measurements for detection include standard measure, examination, monitoring of unpredictability,  
interpretation, stockpiling and investigating. Facts almost never work and discourage in the absence of a difficult  
fine.  
Oyelakin and Kandi (2017) stated that government actions directly and indirectly affect entrepreneurial growth.  
Government regulations and their bureaucratic processes can both impede and encourage industry. Governments  
have a significant part to play and make sure that business owners want to build new companies and are likely  
to be profitable through the rules, legislation, investments and other strategies. In other meanings, government  
policy can improve or otherwise improve business performance. According to (Regine Adele Ngono Fouda,  
2012), the importation tax, the contingent limits and numerous other restrictive governmental provisions are  
fiscal policies designed to limit international trade and protecting the foreign control exercise on local markets  
as well as companies, as well as interventionism. A tax is a mandatory financial levy in exchange for a particular  
service by an administrative authority.  
Profitability is the main problem of corporate performance in assessing possible measures to improve corporate  
efficiency (Suárez, 2016). In the sense of business management, financial success in the accomplishment of the  
objectives of an organization as well as in the measurement of productivity and effectiveness of individual  
activities are highly advised. Corporate governance has been extensively covered in several professional  
activities in the corporate sector over the years with the goal of improving working effectiveness through the use  
of technological advancement correlations (Kareem et al., 2019).  
Nwobu et al., (2015) did a research on the role of SMEs accountancy control services on financial performance.  
The results showed that accountancy practices offer assistance relevant consultancy, technical and Professional  
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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND SCIENTIFIC INNOVATION (IJRSI)  
ISSN No. 2321-2705 | DOI: 10.51244/IJRSI |Volume XII Issue X October 2025  
support to SMEs. The findings showed that SSEs use accounting methods to enhance transparency, appropriately  
analyze profitability and help level of satisfaction aims and targets. The researchers therefore used interviewees.  
The device was operated by hand to the owner and the manager of all SMEs in Festac-City, Lagos. As regards  
the difference, using a Social Sciences Statistical Package (SPSS) would be more successful in making a correct  
diagnosis.  
In a research done by (Mbuva et al., 2018) in Kenya, through development of jobs available, advancement of  
technology and emergence of quality goods, small and medium sized business ventures make a significant  
contribution to organizational success. While their economic contribution is incontrovertible, a controversial  
debate has not yet been settled on particular factors affecting their success. This study aimed to evaluate how the  
environmental regulation impacts the efficiency of SME projects in the district of Machakos. The analysis  
showed that management's ideology and organizational styles affected financial results substantially.  
In Burundi, SMEs assume a vital role on economic growth of the nation by creating new jobs, products, and  
companies across the country (Chanelle, 2013). Burundi's small- and medium-sized enterprises employ about  
85 to 95% of the workforce, prepare entrepreneurs, increase income and generate earnings for most families on  
a poor income scale, which account for 10% of country's Gross Domestic Product (GBAD, 2019). The Burundian  
minor corporate industry therefore meets a variety of socioeconomic and external targets, notably reducing social  
inequality in the society, which is massively increasing pressures on territory, forcing engaged societies to reside  
in towns and cities with a purpose to gain paid employment. According to API (2019), Small enterprises of  
business sector play a significant role with their designs in the town of Bujumbura.  
Observation of the number of jobs projected in 2017 by type of company shows that cooperative societies come  
first with 33% of jobs that should be created, closely followed (32%) by Single member companies. Burundi is  
classified as 42 for Business Establishment, 132 as Investor Protector, and 138 as Paying Taxes as stated by the  
Doing Business Report (2018). In Burundi, one of the lowest income countries in Africa, establishing SMEs is  
more important and Government supports investors upstream and downstream (API, 2019).  
According to the Burundi Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (ISTEEBU) in 2018 report, the SMEs in  
Burundi are 8,459 in total including fishing, services provided to the community, social services and personal  
services. However, all over the world, developed countries rely on SMEs, the same as Burundi. In the annual  
report of Burundi Investment Promotion Authority (API) (2019), a company that provides guidance, assistance  
and support investors from project design and throughout its implementation, visited 20 companies to see how  
they are progressing. This study will focus on ten companies chosen from those identified by API in the annual  
report by API (2019), and also in the documentary when API was doing the promotion of those companies by  
showing their products and services and by showing the contribution of the API in their support of investments  
and also show that investing in Burundi is possible and also profitable.  
Statement of the problem: Accounting controls, in particular for the management of small and medium-size  
businesses throughout the world, have been recognized as crucial to quality improvement of the finance.  
However, according to (GBAD, 2019) Burundi has no national qualification in public accounting.  
The accounting policies for the various industry markets that exist are not IFRS-compliant (GBAD, 2019).  
Burundi, neither by an independent body, nor within the profession, intended to follow practitioners of audit,  
examination of income reports, in addition to various medical coverage initiatives and associated activities  
(Tuna Hussein, 2018).  
Consequently, in the absence of a mechanism to classify them, practitioners who do not comply with the laws  
and codes of ethics in place are not penalized. As a result, the degree of satisfaction to accounting controls is  
typically considered to be poor. Regarding financial performance, profits realized and even companies’ assets  
are very low thus leading to poor performance of SMEs in Bujumbura city, Burundi. According to the worldwide  
economic forum 2018, Burundi occupies 125th out of 135 countries, with a score of 3.21 out of 7, emphasizing  
that the progress of Burundi businesses is influenced by variables like market dimensions, awareness to  
developments, result of the changes procurements, and economic expansion. As a result, the purpose of this  
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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND SCIENTIFIC INNOVATION (IJRSI)  
ISSN No. 2321-2705 | DOI: 10.51244/IJRSI |Volume XII Issue X October 2025  
investigation was to evaluate the impact of detective accounting controls on financial performance among the  
selected SMEs in Bujumbura, Burundi.  
Purpose of research: The main purpose was to establish the influence of detective accounting controls on  
financial performance of selected SMEs in Bujumbura City, Burundi.  
MATERIALS AND METHODS  
Research design: The descriptive research design was used because it aims to gather qualitative and quantitative  
information to make clear accounting controls plus financial performance attributes inside designated SMEs in  
Bujumbura City, Burundi.  
Target population: The targeted respondents incorporated 1463 employees in the Bujumbura City, Burundi  
SMEs.  
Sampling procedure and sample size: The analysis used stratified simple random samples from 1463 employees  
among the SMEs in Bujumbura City, Burundi. The electorate was split into ten groupings (businesses), with  
every grouping (firm) thought to have employees with similar features because they function in the identical  
surroundings. A representative sample of 314 workers was used by the scientist. A survey was distributed to the  
chosen employees of SMEs in Bujumbura City, Burundi with use of the four consultants.  
Research Tool: The study used a well-structured questionnaire to obtain information from the sampled laborers  
of the chosen SMEs in Bujumbura City, Burundi and questionnaire contained both open-ended and closed ended  
questions and statements.  
Data Analysis: Descriptive statistics were mainly employed in order to analysis trends in the studies and to  
describe the patterns in the responses, including the central tendency measuring devices, mode and median, as  
well as the variability measures such as standard deviation plus variance. For inferential statistics, Pearson  
Correlation analysis, linear regression analysis, and moderation analysis were used. To assess the resilience and  
effect of the association among accounting controls as well as financial performance of picked SMEs in  
Bujumbura City, Burundi, the Pearson Correlation (r) was used.  
RESULTS  
Response Rate  
The researcher administered 314 surveys at irregular intervals to investigate participants who were personnel of  
chosen SMEs in Bujumbura, Burundi. Just 302 of the 314 chosen respondents underwent and returned the  
surveys, yielding a response rate of 96.18% (see table 4.1).  
Table 4.1: Response Rate  
No  
Name of the Company  
RAFINA  
Sample size  
Response Count  
Sample size  
97.43%  
1
39  
54  
43  
33  
29  
18  
38  
48  
40  
32  
29  
18  
2
3
4
5
6
Modern Dairy Burundi  
Musumba Steel  
PACOBU  
88.88%  
93.02%  
96.97%  
TLLINNO  
100.00%  
100.00%  
Garden Hotel  
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7
Martha Hotel  
12  
36  
30  
21  
314  
12  
35  
30  
21  
302  
100.00%  
97.22%  
8
Kiriri Garden Hotel  
Kangaroo Hotel  
9
100.00%  
100.00%  
96.18%  
10  
Tanganyika Lakes\’S Group  
Total  
Demographic Characteristics.  
The demographic details of the participants included; respondent’s age, gender, and highest education level  
attained. The findings were as projected in figure 4.4.  
Gender of the Respondent  
The respondents’ gender is described as exhibited in table 4.2.  
Table 4.2. Gender of the Respondents  
Gender  
Male  
Count response  
Percentage response  
197  
105  
302  
65%  
Female  
Total  
35%  
100%  
The discoveries shows that 65% were male while female were 35%; this indicates that both genders were  
involved in the study thus ensuring gender inclusivity in the study.  
Age of the Respondent  
The respondents age distribution is described in table below.  
Table 4.3. Age of the Respondents  
Age  
Count response  
Percentage response  
Less than 25 years  
26-35 years  
36-45 years  
Above 45 years  
Total  
34  
11%  
28%  
44%  
17%  
100%  
84  
133  
51  
302  
The discoveries of table 4.3 reveals that most of the respondents 44% were of the age between 36 to 45 years,  
28% were of the age between 26 to 35 years, 17% were of the age above 45 years and the least 11% were of the  
age below 25 years. These results indicate that majority of the participants were mature enough to give reliable  
data.  
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Respondents’ Level of Education  
The respondents were asked to state their highest education level and the discoveries were as exhibited in table  
below.  
Table 4.4. Highest level of education among the Respondents  
Age  
Count response  
Percentage response  
Primary Level  
Secondary Level  
Diploma Level  
University Degree  
Total  
0
0%  
0
0%  
121  
181  
302  
40%  
60%  
100%  
The discoveries of table 4.4 shows that most of the participants 60% were University graduates, 40% were having  
Diploma as the highest level of education. None of the participants were of the primary nor secondary education.  
These results indicate that the respondents were well educated to read, understand and well articulate the concept  
of the research content thus able to give reliable information.  
Respondent’s Period of Working with their Current Enterprises  
The respondents were required to mention how long they had worked with the organization by the time of the  
study and the discoveries were as exhibited in table below.  
Table 4.5. Respondents’ Years of Working with their organization.  
Age  
Count response  
Percentage response  
1-5 years  
6-10 years  
11-15 years  
16 years and above  
Total  
58  
19%  
58%  
14%  
9%  
174  
42  
28  
302  
100%  
The discoveries of table 4.5 exhibits that majority of the participants 58% had worked with their current  
enterprise for 6 to 10 years, 14% had worked for 11 to 15 years, 9% had worked for over 15 years while only  
19% had worked with it for less than 5 years. These results indicate that majority of the participants had enough  
years of experience with the company thus were in a position to give information that reflects the true situation  
of the respective enterprises.  
Descriptive Statistics  
The investigation aimed to evaluate the dissemination and trend of selected respondents by employing frequency  
components, proportions, and necessarily imply as statistical method, and standard error and confidence interval  
as dispersion measurement.  
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Financial Performance of Selected SMEs in Bujumbura City, Burundi  
The purpose of the research was to evaluate summary analysis for secondary and primary information on  
financial performance between smallest and medium enterprises in Bujumbura, Burundi. A secondary data was  
collected on the Return on Assets (ROA) of the SMEs. The scientist collected primary data by asking participants  
to assess the effectiveness of their businesses amongst listed Firms in Bujumbura City, Burundi. The outcomes  
are summarized in tables 4.6 and 4.9 .  
Table 4.6: Descriptive Summaries of ROA  
R.O.A  
Institution  
Mean %  
11.804  
9.620  
Std. dev.  
2.388  
1.137  
1.925  
1.140  
4.636  
1.304  
2.583  
4.441  
2.389  
1.923  
3.490  
Std. Error  
1.068  
.508  
Garden Hotel  
Kangaroo Hotel  
Kiriri Garden Hotel  
Martha Hotel  
17.809  
11.407  
14.006  
11.203  
9.827  
.861  
.510  
Modern Dairy Burundi  
Musumba Steel  
PACOBU  
2.073  
.583  
1.155  
1.986  
1.068  
.860  
RAFINA  
12.832  
10.218  
8.816  
Tanganyika Lakes\’S Group  
TLLINNO  
Overall  
11.754  
.494  
From table 4.6, the overall average ROA value was 11.754% (Std. dev = 3.490, Std. Error = 1.068); this indicates  
that on average, every Burundian Francs that SMEs in Bujumbura City, Burundi invest in their assets generates  
11.754 cents of net income. The most performing SME among the selected SMEs was Kiriri Garden Hotel with  
ROA= 17.890 (Std. dev = 1.925, Std. Error = 0.861). This indicates that Kiriri Garden Hotel was the best in  
converting its investments into profits compared to the other nine selected SMEs in Bujumbura, city; it seems  
that its management is good at making wise decisions in allocating resources to maximize profits. The least  
performing SME among the selected SMEs was TLLINNO with ROA= 8.816 (Std. dev = 3.490, Std. Error =  
0.494). This indicates that TLLINNO was the least in converting its investments into profits compared to the  
other nine selected SMEs in Bujumbura city; it seems that its management is not good at making wise decisions  
in allocating resources to maximize profits. The overall ROA value was 11.754% (Std. dev = 3.490, Std. Error  
= 1.068) as shown in table 4.6; this indicates that on average, every Burundian Francs that SMEs in Bujumbura  
City, Burundi invest in their assets generates 11.754 cents of net income. This indicates that most of the SMEs  
in Bujumbura city, Burundi have not been very good at converting its investments into profits.  
Table 4.7: Descriptive Statistics for Financial Performance of the Selected SMEs. Strongly Disagree (SD) = 1,  
Disagree (D) = 2, Somehow Agree (SMA) = 3, Agree (A) = 4, and Strongly Agree (SA) = 4.  
Statement  
SD  
D
SMA  
A
SA  
Mean Std. dev  
13  
19  
126  
97  
47  
3.483 .974  
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The profits of the company have been  
increased over the years.  
2
6%  
42%  
32% 16%  
The number of employees has grown 16  
19  
79  
153  
51% 12%  
49 72  
16% 24%  
60 102  
20% 34%  
133 35  
44% 12%  
127 45  
42% 15%  
35  
3.570 .961  
2.987 1.538  
3.480 1.346  
3.533 .921  
3.477 1.093  
tremendously.  
5%  
6%  
19  
26%  
73  
My firm's Return on Assets has increased 89  
over time.  
29%  
14  
5%  
6%  
91  
24%  
35  
Work organization is efficient  
30% 12%  
Employees’ salaries have increased in the 13  
16  
105  
35%  
81  
years  
4%  
5%  
25  
Value added per employee is well above the 24  
company’s production average  
8%  
8%  
27%  
Average  
Organization  
performance  
level  
of Mean(%Mean) Std. Dev. Std. Error of mean Minimum Maximum  
3.422 (68%) .644 .037 1.667 5.000  
The outcome of table 4.7 reveals that most of the respondents, 42% and 32% somehow agree and agree  
respectively that the profits of the company have been increased over the years.; this was supported with a mean  
of 3.485 (std. dev. = 0.974) rated moderate. Similarly, most of the paarticipants, 51% agree that the number of  
employees of their respective companies had been increasing over the years with a mean of 3.570 (std.  
dev.=0.961) rated moderate.  
The SMEs in Bujumbura City, Burundi seem not to be performing well as shown by most of the respondents,  
29% and 24% who strongly disagree and somehow agree respectively that returns on assets of their respective  
companies had been increasing over years; this was also backed by the average mean of 2.987 (std. dev. = 1.538)  
rated moderate. Also, 42% of the participants agree that the contribution made per worker is significantly higher  
than the manufacturing estimate of their chosen organization. However, return on assets seem to have not been  
increasing as revealed by majority of the respondents, 29% was strongly disagreed. Also, work organization  
some of the companies seem not efficient as shown by majority of the respondents, 30% (see table 4.7).  
The entire set of financial performance of specific small and medium enterprises in Bujumbura City, Burundi  
was minor effect at 68% (mean=3.422, standard deviation =0.644). (see table 4.6). This indicates that the  
majority of the designated SMEs in Bujumbura City, Burundi, are doing reasonably well. As a result, the research  
looked into the indicators affecting SMEs in Bujumbura City, Burundi, not to operate well.  
Detective Accounting Controls among the Selected SMEs in Bujumbura, Burundi  
The study intended to assess the degree of adoption of detective accounting controls in the listed small and  
medium businesses in Bujumbura City, Burundi. The participants were required to rate the detective accounting  
controls levels in their respective SMEs and the experimental findings were as shown in table 4.8.  
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Table 4.8: Descriptive Statistics for Detective Accounting Controls  
Strongly Disagree (SD) = 1, Disagree (D) = 2, Somehow Agree (SMA) = 3, Agree (A) = 4, and Strongly Agree  
(SA) = 4.  
Statement  
SD  
D
SMA  
37  
A
SA  
75  
Mean Std. dev  
As a manager, I have learned how to 12  
effectively satisfy customers’ needs by  
listening and monitor the unpredictability.  
18  
6%  
98  
160  
53%  
51  
3.887 .978  
4%  
5
12%  
68  
25%  
80  
Monitoring processes has helped the  
company to achieve its goals quickly and  
efficiently.  
3.341 1.228  
3.748 1.077  
3.467 .949  
3.632 1.018  
3.699 1.059  
2%  
32% 23%  
17%  
152  
50%  
102  
34%  
91  
26%  
67  
My company has established the standard 19  
measures to detect abnormalities in the  
accounting.  
22  
42  
6%  
7%  
15  
14%  
130  
43%  
118  
39%  
126  
42%  
22%  
41  
Standard measures have helped my company 14  
to increase its profitability.  
5%  
5%  
10  
14%  
69  
When interpreting financial statements in the 14  
company, we ascertain who the users of  
accounts are and what information they need.  
5%  
3%  
18  
30%  
55  
23%  
95  
My company always keeps available the  
year-end financial statement and interpret it  
to the commercial tribunal clerk  
8
3%  
6%  
18%  
31%  
Average  
Detective  
Controls  
level  
Accounting  
of Mean(%Mean) Std. Dev. Std. Error of Minimum Maximum  
mean  
3.629 (72.5%)  
.724  
.042  
1.167  
5.000  
The discoveries of table 4.8 exhibits that majority of the respondents, 53% concurred that they had learned how  
to effectively satisfy customers’ needs by listening and monitor the unpredictability; this was backed by an  
average score of 3.887 (std. dev. = 0.978) rated high. Similarly, majority of the respondents 50% concurred that  
their companies had established the standard measures to detect abnormalities in the accounting; the  
corresponding mean score was 3.748 (std. dev. = 1.077) rated high. However, there seem to be laxity in  
monitoring the processes which has helped the company to achieve its goals quickly and efficiently as revealed  
by majority of the participants, 32% who disagreed that the monitoring processes had helped the company to  
achieve its goals quickly and efficiently; this was backed by the corresponding mean score of 3.341 (std. dev. =  
1.228) rated moderate. Majority of the participants, 43% somehow concurred that standard measures had helped  
their respective companies to increase its profitability while 39% also somehow agreed that they figure out who  
the accounts users were and what information they required when interpreting financial statements in the  
companies; the corresponding supporting mean scores were 3.467 (std. dev. = 0.949) and 3.632 (std. dev. =  
1.018) respectively rated moderate. Majority of the respondents, 43% also somehow concurred that their  
respective companies always keep available the year-end financial statement and interpret it to the commercial  
tribunal clerk; the corresponding supporting average score was 3.699 (std. dev. = 1.059) rated moderate.  
The effective result of detective accounting controls in the chosen SMEs in Bujumbura, Burundi was small  
influence at 72.5% (mean=3.629, standard deviation =0.724). (see table 4.8). This indicates that most of the  
chosen SMEs are modest at best when it comes to implementing detective accounting controls. As a result, the  
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research used linear regression analysis to determine whether an absence of efficient detective accounting  
controls impacts the financial performance of the chosen small and medium enterprises.  
Linear Regression of Detective Controls on Financial Performance of SMEs  
The study’s goal was to assess the influence of detective accounting controls on the financial performance of the  
chosen SMEs in Bujumbura City, Burundi. To accomplish the goal, the investigator aimed to examine the  
mentioned null hypothesis:  
Detective Accounting Controls has no significant influence on the financial Performance of SMEs in Bujumbura  
City, Burundi.  
The outcomes of hypothesis testing utilising simple linear regression were as indicated in table 4.9.  
Table 4.9: Linear Regression of Detective Accounting Controls on the Financial Performance of the SMEs in  
Bujumbura, Burundi  
Model Summary  
Model  
1
r
r-square  
.409  
Adjusted r-square  
.407  
Std. Error of the Estimate  
.49568  
.639a  
a. Predictors: (Constant), Detective Accounting Controls  
b. Dependent Variable: Financial Performance  
ANOVAa  
Model  
Regression  
Sum of Squares Df  
Mean Square  
50.935  
F
Sig.  
1
50.935  
73.710  
124.645  
1
207.306  
.000b  
Residual  
Total  
300  
301  
.246  
a. a. Dependent Variable Financial Performance  
b. Predictors: (Constant), Detective Accounting Controls  
Coefficientsa  
Model  
Unstandardized  
Coefficients  
Standardized  
Coefficients  
t
Sig.  
Std. Error Beta  
(Constant)  
1.360  
.568  
.146  
.039  
9.316  
14.398  
.000  
.000  
Detective Accounting Controls  
.639  
a. Dependent Variable: Financial Performance  
Table 4.18 demonstrates that the Analysis of variance testing outcomes were substantial, F (1, 300) = 207.306,  
P = 0.000 0.05; this analysis indicates that the simple linear regression model was a better match in designing  
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the linear relationship among detective accounting controls and the financial performance. The design explained  
40.7% of the variance in financial performance of SMEs as noted by the adjusted r-square = 0.407. (see table  
4.18).  
The regression Coefficient outcomes were discovered to be important, as seen in table 4.18 ; = 0.568, t = 14.398,  
p=0.000 0.05; thus, the study dismissed the null hypothesis and concluded that detective accounting controls had  
a high valid impact on the financial performance of SMEs. Detective accounting controls had a favorable  
formalized beta coefficient = 0.639 (see the coefficients outcomes of table 4.14); this implies that a component  
advancement in detective accounting controls was expected to enhance financial performance of the chosen  
SMEs by 63.9%.  
The component was considered significant; =1.360, t = 9.316, p=0.000 0.05 (see the coefficient outcomes of  
table 4.18); this demonstrates that, in addition to the detective accounting controls in the method, there are other  
variables that affect the organizational performance of the SMEs in Bujumbura, Burundi, that are not recorded  
in the method but instead in the research. The research revealed using the mentioned method to forecast the  
organizational performance of SMEs in Bujumbura, Burundi when provided the standard of detective accounting  
controls;  
Financial Performance= 1.360 + 0.568 detective accounting controls  
The research results corroborate the outcomes by (Yoo et al., 2018) where it was concluded that engineering the  
power has a good effect on market success and operational performance and that methodology plays the  
moderating role in the link at the corporate levels.  
DISCUSSION OF KEY FINDINGS  
The detective accounting controls research examines whether an absence of efficient detective accounting  
controls affects the financial performance of the chosen SMEs in Bujumbura City, Burundi. As a result, the  
article examines the degree of acceptance of detective accounting controls in the city's chosen SMEs.  
Furthermore, the study showed that developing a component in detective accounting controls was most likely to  
enhance the financial performance of small businesses in Bujumbura, Burundi. Once more, the analysis revealed  
that, in addition to the detective accounting controls in the approach, there are other variables that affect the  
financial performance of small businesses in Bujumbura, Burundi that are not apprehended in the approach but  
rather in the research.  
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS  
According to the research’s discoveries, there is a strong association in both detective accounting controls and  
the financial performance of small businesses in Bujumbura City, Burundi. The regression coefficient findings  
are important, and detective control activities had a favorable formalized beta coefficient, indicating that a  
component advancement in detective accounting controls was expected to enhance the financial performance of  
small businesses in Bujumbura, Burundi. Furthermore, the component was discovered to be statistically  
substantial; thus, the research showed that, in addition to the detective accounting controls in the approach, there  
are other variables that affect the financial performance of small businesses in Bujumbura, Burundi that are not  
recorded in the concept but rather in the research. This research recommends all small businesses operating in  
Bujumbura City to adopt detective control mechanisms because they are critical for improving financial  
profitability performance without exposure to environmental stake.  
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