Internal control practices have been established to influence financial performance of County Government, though County Government have been facing a myriad of challenges in terms of financial performance. The drive of this study was to establish internal control practices that influence county governments to streamline their operations and perform efficiently and effectively for the benefit of the general interest. Therefore the general objective of the study was to determine the internal control practices and financial performance of county governments in the coastal region of Kenya. Specifically, the study endeavored to establish the effect of audit function, risk management, financial reporting and cash management on financial performance of county governments in the coastal region. The study was based on the following theories: The Agency theory, Attribution theory and procedural justice theory. The researcher  adopted a descriptive research design. The target population of the study were 30 employees drawn from 5 departments in the Ministry of Finance, Budget and planning in the county governments of the Coastal region. The study targeted 4 Counties in the coastal region of Kenya, that is Mombasa, Kilifi, Kwale and Taita and the respondents were 40 finance managers obtained from Finance Planning Ministry of the listed County governments. A census of 40 respondents was carried out. Primary data was collected using questionnaires. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. The study found a positive and significant effect between risk assessment, monitoring, control environment, information and communication on financial performance. The study concluded that the risk identification and mitigation play the most significant role in influencing financial performance of the County governments. Hence, risk identification can essentially be said to be the key starting point of any risk management program as the Counties cannot manage what is unknown. Monitoring the financial performance of the County creates more certainty and confidence in making both short and long term decisions. This in turn leads to a healthier business and faster growth rate. The control environment provides the basis for carrying out internal control across the organization. Effective adoption of information and communication systems is of vital importance in making sure that the County governments improves their financial performance. The study recommends that the management of the Counties should put in place cost-effective measures for timely risk identification and effective risk mitigation so as to ensure that their financial performance is not impacted negatively. The County governments should have appropriate tools for monitoring their financial performance so as to effectively monitor their goals, the progress they make and all the key performance metrics throughout their financial operations. The County governments should demonstrate a commitment to integrity and ethical values. Specific standards of conduct should be understood throughout all levels of the County, and processes should be in place to evaluate performance and quickly address deviations from expectations. The County governments should communicate successfully with their investors to form stronger relationships with them. Information and communication should be between the County and financial stakeholders about the County’s economic events and their effects within and outside the financial statements.

Market reacts differently to various factors ranging from economic political, and socio-cultural. The stock prices of quoted companies in Kenya are affected either positivity or negatively by a number of factors occurring within or without the economic system. Initial public offering is often issued by smaller, younger companies seeking the capital to expand, but can also be done by large privately owned companies looking to become publicly traded. The initial public offering is a vital step for young entrepreneurial firms, providing them access to the public equity market for the first time. Previous literature had focused primarily on initial public offering under-pricing phenomenon to measure the performance of companies. However, researchers argued that initial public offering pricing, which was a key factor in under-pricing had remained relatively unexplored in literature. The study employed descriptive research design. The study targeted a total population of 7 quoted companies in Nairobi security market, which had issued IPO from 2006-2020. The study depended on secondary data collected from the Nairobi Securities Exchange. Data was analysed by the use of SPSS. From the panel regression analysis, the interclass correlation (rho) was 0.310 implying that 31% of the variations in equity share prices are due to differences among the quoted firms. The within and between R-square was 0.0154 and 0.9967 respectively. The overall R2 was 0.9885, indicating that the variables considered in the model account for about 98.85% percent change in the dependent variables, while the remaining percent change may be as a result of other variables not addressed by this model. Dividend per share improved significantly after the IPO. Dividend per share was also established to improved significantly after the IPO. The study concludes that dividend per share, market capitalization and market liquidity improved in the post going public period. This is due to the proceeds received by companies from the sale of their shares to the public. In addition, the study concludes that firms benefit by going public despite potentially higher agency problems, at least for the first few years after the IPO. Becoming publicly traded provides financial capital to firms that helps them commercialize their products.