Strengthening Financial Accountability through Human Resource Competence: Evidence from an Indonesian Public Service Agency University

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Udin Hamim
Muchtar Ahmad

International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences Reviews
Vol. 3 No. 3 (2026): August: International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences Reviews

This study examines human resource competence in improving financial management at the Public Service Agency of Gorontalo State University, a public higher education institution that operates under a flexible financial management model while remaining accountable for public funds. The main problem addressed is how financial management personnel translate regulatory knowledge, technical skills, and professional attitudes into efficient, effective, and accountable financial governance. This study aims to analyze the competence of financial management personnel and explain its contribution to strengthening institutional financial management. A qualitative descriptive approach was employed through interviews, observation, and document analysis involving bureau leaders, financial work team officials, treasurers, and financial managers across relevant work units. The findings show that knowledge competence is reflected in personnel understanding of regulations, policies, financial systems, budgeting procedures, reporting requirements, and the linkage between budget and institutional performance. Skills competence is demonstrated through financial administration, transaction recording, document verification, use of financial information systems, reconciliation, reporting, and preparation of accountability documents. Attitudinal competence appears in professionalism, compliance, integrity, prudence, responsibility, and openness to evaluation and audit. Financial management has been directed toward performance-based planning, expenditure control, budget realization monitoring, reporting, supervision, and audit follow-up. However, challenges remain in regulatory adaptation, system integration, data quality, document timeliness, account-code accuracy, inter-unit coordination, and consistency of audit follow-up. The study concludes that strengthening human resource competence is essential for improving financial management that is efficient, effective, accountable, and performance-oriented in public university financial governance.