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2020, Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting & Financial Management
The article presents the viewpoints of two researchers, supported by research which is cited in the paper. Findings: Public sector auditing research has grown considerably. We expect further growth. We debunk some myths about public sector auditing. We suggest areas where there are opportunities for research. In particular, researchers can examine a broader range of jurisdictions, investigate differences among countries, and develop suggestions about what works best. Research limitations/implications: The paper presents the views of the authors. Practical implications: There are opportunities for further research across different jurisdictions. Originality/value: The paper makes a contribution by outlining research opportunities.
SSRN Electronic Journal
This paper explores the value of financial statement auditing in the public sector. The study applies theory about auditing from the private sector as well as the public sector to explore ways in which public sector auditing can be expected to be valuable. It shows that there are a number of complementary explanations that can be applied to examine the value of public audit, including agency, signaling, insurance, management control, governance and confirmation explanations. The evidence from research and history is generally consistent with the agency and management control explanations. There is some support for the signaling and insurance explanations, while research evidence suggests that governance has differing impact in the public sector compared to the private. The confirmation hypothesis is also potentially relevant. Reviewing the history of the development of public sector auditing functions shows that at least some developments were consistent with explanations such as agency theory and management control. Auditing in the public sector is an area where more research is valuable. The paper concludes with a discussion of issues for further investigation.
Emerald Publishing Limited eBooks, 2022
Recent research has shown that there is a growing gap between academia and practice in public sector accounting, auditing and accountability. This is a particularly important issue in the context of public services and policies, where a number of emerging issues and trends, such as fiscal sustainability, global climate change, demographic changes, equity and inclusive growth, government transparency, citizen participation and engagement, political polarisation and fragmentation, the growth of false information in social media, and new forms of public-private-non-profit partnership, as well as technological advancements, such as big data, block-chain, and digital transformation, bring about new challenges and require innovative, timely, and effective solutions. To strengthen the debate between academia and practice, Emerald Studies in Public Service Accounting and Accountability aims to provide a forum where academics, practitioners, and policy makers can interact and promote new ideas related to hot topics and emerging trends. Through innovative use of different formats, such as short-form books, in-depth case studies, and debates, this series will foster a dialogue between those in academia and those in practice, both leading to the advancement of research in this field and increasing its impact.
Auditing Practices in Local Governments: An International Comparison
This chapter summarises the analysis of the preceding chapters. Whilst different countries use different models for their audit, some continuities do emerge. The audit explosion has led to the advance of both financial and performance audit. Inspection however remains an infrequent feature of the audit landscape. Many countries have a localised system of local audit in which the role and influence of audit is variable. Furthermore, the audit of local government lacks a clear democratic role at the moment.
2005
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the extant Anglo-American literature on'performance auditing for the public sector', in order to identify the socio-economic and political themes that influenced the emergence of public sector performance auditing. The paper also seeks to develop an understanding of the role and practice of performance auditing in the public sector.
Routledge eBooks, 2020
The book will be of great interest to academics who have an interest in audit, particularly public audit. There will also be practitioner interest, particularly in the analysis of international perspectives".-Pat Barrett, former Auditor-General of Australia "Public sector auditing currently has significant pressures and stresses associated with emerging social, demographic, economic, technological, and environmental challenges. This textbook presents several theoretical and practical contributions to knowledge of public sector auditing. The book provides a contemporary public sector auditing perspective that is geared to include the current and future challenges and provide significant insights for scholars and public sector actors to strategically decide on the many dynamic challenges".
This research work is on effective audit as a tool for improving institutional governance and accountability in the public sector. Data were gathered through questionnaire and hypotheses stipulated which basically questioned the existence of auditing departments, the activity of effective governance in the public sector and define the key element needed to maximize the value of the public sector audit provided to all levels of government. To test these hypotheses, Anovas was employed. We found out that the internal audit can effectively check fraud and fraudulent activities in the Imo State public sector and a significant number of internal audit departments functioning effectively exist. It is recommended that government should provide an adequately equip staff with electronic data processing and also maintain an environment within which internal auditors can have sufficient freedom to accomplish their task effectively.
The ES Accounting And Finance
This research uses a comprehensive bibliometric analysis to explore the literature on public sector accounting practices and their impact on accountability and transparency. The research used VOSviewer, a bibliometric analysis tool, to visualize and analyze the bibliometric network, revealing patterns of collaboration, influential publications, and key themes. The data collection process yielded 840 scholarly articles from leading academic databases, with a focus on English-language publications in the past decade. The results show six distinct publication clusters, each highlighting significant research themes. Cluster 1 emphasizes innovation and transparency, indicating the relevance of accounting change and performance measurement in public sector organizations. Cluster 2 centers on accounting reform and the adoption of accrual accounting practices, exploring the transition from cash-based to accrual-based accounting in the public sector. Cluster 3 studies forensic accounting and...
International Journal of Auditing, 2017
The effectiveness of the internal audit function is important to improve performance in the public sector. This study provides insight into the drivers and measures of internal audit effectiveness. The heads of the internal audit function, senior management of public institutions and chairpersons of the audit committee, within a South African public sector context, responded to a survey based on an extensive review of the internal audit function. Exploratory factor analysis was applied to facilitate the reduction of 92 items into a meaningful number of independent (drivers) and dependent (measures) variables. The result of the study identifies a refined list of drivers and measures of internal audit effectiveness that adds to existing knowledge and presents a foundation for further research.
2016
Public sector performance auditing poses significant role in appraising the accountability of government through monitoring the operation of public power, especially how public resources are being used.In parallel, follow-up audit appear to be important to recheck on the responsiveness of auditee towards audit recommendation on various issues raised pertaining to improper use of public fund.Lack of audit follow-up may cause a problem to measure the real value of performance audit and expected results of audit recommendation. Accountability mechanism pertaining to follow up audit in public sector performance audit perspective need to be enforced not by sole actor but various actors.Accountability mechanism regarded as either the right to argument or questions information conveyed and information flow pertaining to unresolved performance audit issues by various actors for settlement.During the follow-up audit, a free flow of information by all those actors enable them to voice their c...
A Case Study of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps Personnel Audit, 2024
This study examines the personnel audit within the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), focusing on its potential to improve transparency, efficiency, and accountability in public administration. By addressing issues such as ghost workers, misaligned deployments, and financial mismanagement, the audit seeks to optimize the corps' operational capacity. The findings underscore the necessity for regular, thorough audits as a means of ensuring proper utilization of public resources. This case highlights the broader significance of conducting audits in public sector institutions, which is critical to improving governance and public trust. The article advocates for adopting regular, technology-driven audits to foster systemic integrity across all sectors of public administration.
Journal of Applied Accounting Research, 2022
Organizational scholars are increasingly conceptualizing organizational responsiveness to institutional pressures as a strategic choice. This research identified a number of important institutional and technical determinants of this critical strategic choice. In particular, five factors that reflect the underlying nature of institutional pressures-cause, constituents, content, control, and context-were considered as forces motivating strategic responsiveness to institutional pressures. These issues were explored in a study of organizational responses to institutional pressures for employer involvement in work and family issues.
Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change, 2022
Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to explore how internal auditors' (IAs) roles have changed because of the diffusion of neoliberal ideologies in the Ukrainian public sector. Design/methodology/approach -A qualitative methodological approach was applied. Data were collected from 29 semi-structured interviews with public sector auditors in Ukraine's central government; secondary data analysis was also performed. Findings -IAs' role in Ukraine's central government has changed significantly, with reforms attempting to move to performance auditing. Consequently, Ukrainian central government IAs appeared in the multi-expectation situation, due to the division of the role senders into two different areas. On one hand, IAs are expected to perform new roles set by the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine, while their traditional role as "watchdogs" is still expected by managers (heads of institutions). Diverging expectations resulted in the role conflict that impedes the change in IAs' role and performance auditing introduction in the Ukrainian central government. Moreover, we identify factors that motivate IAs to prioritise managers' expectations, while trying to cope with the existing role conflict in Ukraine's central government. Originality/value -This study makes a threefold contribution by enriching the understanding of auditors' roles, role conflicts that public sector auditors may experience and factors that influence how auditors cope with such conflicts, through the lenses of role theory; exploring the change in roles with the
Accounting in Europe, 2020
We assess audit quality in the public sector of two European jurisdictions by using the model developed by English and Guthrie. Accordingly, we analysed the enabling legislations of the two supreme audit institutions in terms of the issues relating to (i) accountability to their respective parliaments; and (ii) independence from their respective executives. The results highlight strong legal provisions that enable independence, and point to some weaknesses regarding accountability. We show that, since the English and Guthrie model was developed in an Australasian context where state audits are designed on the private sector model, the model needs to be amended in order to apply in an European context.
International Journal on Governmental Financial …, 2009
Financial Risk and Management Reviews, 2016
This paper examines the impact of auditing in the public sector. It delved into the perspectives of functional auditing in the public sector in view of the continue quest for accountability placed on the accounting officer. The accounting officers must, as a matter of facts and professionalism, carry out his role and responsibility in such a way that affairs of resources placed under his control are properly accounted for and stewardship report rendered periodically to the public for performance assessment. Procedure in public sector brings out the essence of accountability in the public sector and the resultant stewardship accounting. The paper commences with the paper keywords, introduction, and the body of the presentation, observations, summary and conclusions in order for the researcher to drive home his point. Contribution/ Originality: This paper examines the impact of auditing procedures and process in the public sector. It will serve as reference materials for future researchers and update the previous studies as well filling the existing gap in literature.
Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 2018
Purpose In the context of global new public management reform trends and the associated phenomenon of performance auditing (PA), the purpose of this paper is to explore the rise of performance audit in Australia and examines its focus across audit jurisdictions and the role key stakeholders play in driving its practice. Design/methodology/approach The study adopts a multi-jurisdictional analysis of PA in Australia to explore its scale and focus, drawing on the theoretical tools of Goffman. Documentary analysis and interview methods are employed. Findings Performance audit growth has continued but not always consistently over time and across audit jurisdictions. Despite auditor discourse concerning backstage performance audit intentions being strongly focussed on evaluating programme outcomes, published front stage reports retain a strong control focus. While this appears to reflect Auditors-General (AGs) reluctance to critique government policy, nonetheless there are signs of direct...
Australian Journal of Public Administration, 1991
Important aspects of public accountability under the Australian system of government have recently been questioned by the executive arm of the federal government. The response of the federal parliament can be seen as a defence of the traditional status quo, and a fight to re-establish the pre-eminence of parliament in the accountability chain from government to the people. The disagreement between the executive and parliament centres on the organisation, scope and reporting requirements of public sector audit, and on whether ...
Asian Journal of Finance & Accounting
The notion that auditing could reduce corruption has received considerable attention in both business and academia. The purpose of the current study is to explore the latest trends and gaps in the literature that investigate the link between corruption and public sector auditing. It is based on reviews of the academic literature and draws general conclusions on the status of the latest findings. The previous literature on corruption focused on economic and political perspectives. Although evidence suggests that public sector auditing helps to combat corruption, there is still a huge gap in the knowledge of this area, especially concerning the functional role of public sector auditing in corruption detection and deterrence in developing countries. Moreover, there is a scarcity of literature that explains in depth how audit types conducted by the Supreme Audit Institution (SAI) may contribute to a reduction in corruption, and which types of audit are more effective. There is also mini...
2021
Internal audit is the cornerstone of good public sector management. Auditors help improve the accountability, integrity and operations of public sector organizations by evaluating whether public resources are managed effectively and correctly. The study aims to draw attention to the roles of internal audit in the public sector and the methods and basic components these roles perform. As a result of the mentioned issues, the public sector internal audit activity will enable public sector institutions to achieve their goals in an effective, efficient, economic and ethical manner. However, it will make it easier for public institutions to be accountable and transparent to the public.
Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management
Purpose This paper aims to explore how the phenomena of corruption and fraud in the public sector have been portrayed in the literature using the Audit Society Framework (Power, 1997). Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted a structured literature review (Massaro et al., 2016) to unveil relevant literature in the area of corruption and fraud in the public sector. Findings Results highlight that the literature using “The Audit Society” theory is still scant. Notwithstanding the call for a more decisive role of auditors in fighting corruption and fraud, much is still to be discovered about consequences of auditing and what “good quality” is. Research limitations/implications The main limitation is that only literature in English has been included. Practical implications This paper helps practitioners and policymakers to take and implement informed decisions with regards to the fight against fraud and corruption. Social implications In calling for more research in the domain...
The purpose of this study is to identify and analyze factors that influence internal audit effectiveness in the public sector of Liberia. Using the University of Liberia as a case study, the researcher investigates whether internal audit functions are effective or ineffective and identify policy measures adopted by the university to mitigate ineffectiveness. This is multi-method research, a study in which the researcher adopts and employs both qualitative and quantitative strategies to collect and analyze data (De Liste, 2011; Foeday, 2015; Johnson &Onwuegbuzie, 2004; Johnson, Onwuegbuzie, & Turner, 2007). In this study, the researcher presented both qualitative and quantitative data. The researcher selected (25) participants within the business and Finance office of the University which include internal auditors, managers, finance officers, comptrollers, and procurement officers within the finance department. This research is a case study looking at internal audit practices at the University of Liberia. Though the study is about internal audit effectiveness in the public sector, due to time and financial constraints, the researcher considers the Business and Finance offices at Liberia’s highest public institution of learning. The findings arising from this research reveal management support, low numbers of staff, lack of structure, and lack of professional training opportunities as factors influencing internal audit effectiveness in the public sector. Analysis of the findings, conclusion, and recommendations are presented in subsequent chapters
Asian Journal of Economics, Business and Accounting, 2021
Aims: This research was conducted to determine the development of research articles on performance audit in the public sector published in international journals over the last10 years, to find out the map of collaboration between researchers, to figure out the topics of great interest in research, and to present which topics that have the opportunity to investigate in further research. Study Design: This research is a literature study using the bibliometrics analysis method. Place and Duration of Study: The Google Scholar database, period 2010 to 2020. Methodology: In the initial search, there were 503 journals found, the next selection was to look for journal articles that specifically discuss audit performance in the public sector, found as many as 33 journals. Results: After further observation of the 33 article titles, it was found that eleven articles were published in international journals with Q1-Q3 criteria in Scimago and as many as 22 articles were published in internation...
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