Dubihlela, Jobo .Cele, Nelisiwe.2025-11-062025-11-0620242024https://hdl.handle.net/10413/24034Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.Under the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA), Act 1 of 1999, government institution management must make sure that all financial policies established by organisations, as well as rules and regulations, are followed. This research explores the role of Internal Auditing in mitigating noncompliance and irregular expenditure within eThekwini Municipality operations. The fact that non-compliance and irregular expenditures still prevail within the municipality in spite of the existence of the internal auditing and compliance unit points to the need for research. Many people have concerns regarding the influence and function of the internal audit unit within the local governments as a result of the consistently rising number of irregular expenditures. This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of internal auditing in mitigating these issues and propose recommendations for improving internal auditing processes to address non-compliance and irregular expenditures within the municipality. The study followed a quantitative research approach to understand the drivers of irregular expenditures and the role of internal audit unit by asking respondents to share their day-to-day experiences with auditors and their role. Data collected using quantitative approach was examined with the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) program, and the results were displayed as means, frequencies, percentages, and standard deviations. Through the "drop and pick" method, respondents were given a questionnaire with closed-ended questions and replies evaluated on a 5-point Likert scale. Descriptive analysis was used to examine the data gathered using the instrument for measuring so that inferences could be made. The study found that inconsistent spending may result from a lack of workshops and training on policies and challenges. It is also confirmed that the departments have controls in place to minimise possibilities of irregular expenditures but some of the controls are not effective because they are not properly designed or properly implemented. Another issue that can make it hard to implement designed controls in local government is the issue of political influence. It is advised that the division of internal audit offer instruction on the new policies that have been suggested as well as direction on how to proceed. The results of the study corroborate previous research on the role internal audit plays in supply chain operations and in lowering the amount of irregular spending in the municipality.enCC0 1.0 Universalhttp://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/Local government.Mismanagement of funds.Mismanagement of funds.Thesis