This study is an effort to fill the gap in knowledge and methodological limitations of current research interest on factors affecting budgeting and financial management practices at local level of public administration. The focus of most research on budgeting and financial management practices within government sector has been at the national and sectoral levels. The general notion has been that modalities, regulations and policies for budgeting and financial management can be developed at the national level and then sent down to implementers for their compliance to effect the needed change. This has led to over-focus on the national level. A conceptual model is proposed that establishes a sequential network of factors affecting sound budgeting and financial management practices at the local level. The main argument is that contextual factors, the disposition of management teams, characteristics of district health directorates and strategic planning at the local level all affect the achievement of sound budgeting and financial management practices. Hypotheses were developed to articulate the direct and indirect effect of sound budgeting and financial management practices by employing the path analytic framework. The analysis shows that district health directorate characteristics have a strong direct effect, whereas strategic planning and budgeting exert a strong indirect effect. Hence, strengthening of budget and financial management practices should take into consideration all the variables studied with strategic planning as its foundation block.