Increasing the Utility of Performance Audit Reports: Using Textual Analytics Tools to Improve the Government Reporting

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huijue Kelly Duan ◽  
Hanxin Hu
Keyword(s):  
Performance Audit ◽  
The Government ◽  
Audit Reports

The contents of the National Audit Office of Finland performance audits, 2001–2016

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-66
Author(s):  
Pertti Ahonen ◽  
Juha Koljonen
Keyword(s):  
Future Research ◽  
Institutional Characteristics ◽  
National Audit ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Comprehensive Examination ◽  
Performance Audit ◽  
Performance Auditing ◽  
The Government ◽  
Audit Reports ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide a qualitative, computationally assisted examination of prominent content patterns in the 2001–2016 National Audit Office of Finland (NAOF) performance audit reports and foremost changes in these patterns. Design/methodology/approach Without ex ante researcher decisions on which content elements are important, the authors use computational content analysis of topic modelling for detecting content patterns and their changes in the performance audit reports. Findings In the content patterns, professional effectiveness auditing stands out, whereas efficiency auditing is more weakly present. Other content patterns correspond to the NAOF institutional position and its audit mandate, the institutional characteristics of Finland’s public sector, and independent NAOF decisions in orienting its work. The authors can discern both ascendant, ascendant and stabler content patterns. Research limitations/implications As the paper emphasises textual analysis, examining from where changes in the content patterns derive is secondary. Implications for both more intensive and extensive future research are drawn. Practical implications The authors argue that together with other approaches the approach has potential in monitoring Supreme Audit Institution (SAI) performance auditing in the level of its contents. Social implications Knowing how an SAI orients its performance auditing has potential to support SAI monitoring by stakeholders – Parliament, the government, the citizens and others. Originality/value This is a comprehensive examination of the content patterns of the performance audit reports of an SAI since the 2001 introduction of its present institutional position.

scholarly journals IS THE ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE, ENVIRONMENTAL ACCOUNTING, AGENCY COST IMPACT ON COMPANY PERFORMANCE? (CASE STUDY OF REGIONAL WATER COMPANIES IN INDONESIA)

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 39
Author(s):  
Hendra Setiawan
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Agency Cost ◽  
Environmental Accounting ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Company Performance ◽  
Performance Audit ◽  
Audit Reports ◽  
The Impact

<p>Companies that want to continue, exist and thrive in this day must make an increase in company performance. The performance referred to here is not just performance according to the company wishes but in accordance with customer needs. Factors that influence the company's current performance are environmental factors and agency cost. This study will analyze the impact of environmental performance, environmental accounting and agency cost on company performance. The target population of this research is the local water company (PDAM) of 34 PDAMs out of 368 PDAMs which were evaluated based on PDAM performance audit reports up to 2016 conducted by BPKP and financial audits by the Public Accountant Office (KAP). Data collection techniques are primary data through questionnaires that are shared with PDAM stakeholders and secondary data on PDAM performance audit reports. The results showed that environmental performance had a significant negative impact on PDAM company performance because of its impact value - 0.334 and the t-statistic was 3.589. Meanwhile, environmental accounting and agency cost have a significant positive impact on the performance of PDAM where the impact values are 0.4692 and 0.3816 and their t-statistics values are 7.3769 and 3.522, respectively. The PDAM must pay attention to its environmental performance impactively and efficiently by always paying attention to environmental accounting and agency costs.</p>

scholarly journals The Role and Status of Research: The Case of Ethiopian Higher Institutions

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (5S3) ◽  
pp. 297-301
Keyword(s):  
Human Resource Development ◽  
Research Policy ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Advanced Education ◽  
Research Activities ◽  
The Government ◽  
Teaching Learning ◽  
Audit Reports ◽  
Higher Institutions

Research in the higher institutions’ for certain countries plays a vital role in promoting and resolving the nations’ problem by engaging its faculty members in different demand driven researches by prioritizing various thematic areas. Ethiopia has additionally been occupied with a profoundly goal-oriented exertion utilizing inquires about to adjust its advanced education framework by making joins in more straightforward help of its national procedure for monetary development and destitution decrease. This study identified the role and status of research in HEIs in Ethiopia since 2016-2018. Employing a quantitative content analysis of the quality audit reports produced based on one of the 10 quality focus areas delineated for research and outreach activities using a series of interviews, analyzed documents and visited teaching- learning resources, infrastructures and observed activities. Sampling that is availability sampling employed from all 20 (9 government and 11 non- government institutions) audited HEIs from 2016-2018. Results indicate that there are factors that are affecting research activities and output in the audited HEIs such as too much load of work given to teachers lack or shortage of budget in both government and non-government HEIs, lack of clarity in the legislation, inadequate awareness on the part of some of the academic staff that their promotion is dependent on doing researches and publishing and the likes. Furthermore, the study revealed that no clear information as to how researches are approved, and how budget is allocated in the government HEIs , inadequate research writing knowledge and skill in some young researchers and inability to launch research journals both in government and non government HEIs. Recommendations for decision and policy makers, controllers, and pioneers of advanced education establishments incorporate guaranteeing proper funds and human resource development should be in place, efficient managers and management systems, and clear research policy should be set in proper manner

scholarly journals Are Performance Audits Useful? A Comparison of EU Practices

2016 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 431-462 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lourdes Torres ◽  
Ana Yetano ◽  
Vicente Pina
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Performance Audit ◽  
American Way ◽  
Anglo American ◽  
Audit Reports ◽  
The Impact

Performance audits allow audit institutions to contribute to the improvement of the economy, efficiency, and/or effectiveness of public sector entities through the recommendations of their reports. To assess the impact of the performance audits carried out by EU Supreme and Regional Audit Institutions, this article analyzes whether these recommendations are implemented in practice or not. The results show that there are two main ways in which the recommendations included in the performance audit reports produce an impact: the Anglo-American way, based on auditee actions and follow-up processes, and the Germanic way, based on parliamentary action.

scholarly journals WORLD TRENDS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF EXPERT AND ANALYTICAL ACTIVITY IN ASSESSMENTS AND CRITERIA

THE BULLETIN ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (388) ◽  
pp. 223-231
Author(s):  
Sembieva L.M., ◽  
◽  
Tazhbenova G., ◽  
Orynbekova G., ◽  
Mandrazhi Z., ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Russian Federation ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Similar Work ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Expert Analysis ◽  
Executive Decision Making ◽  
The Russian Federation ◽  
Performance Audit ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Audit Reports

World experience indicates that the implementation of expert analysis, largely, affects the level of high-quality management decisions, as well as the level of executive decision-making in the budget and financial sphere. In addition, these measures contribute to increasing the degree of responsibility, transparency and accountability in the activities of state bodies. The authors studied the world practice of conducting expert and analytical activities, evaluating the effectiveness of the application of expert and analytical activities, developing methodological recommendations for conducting similar work in the Republic of Kazakhstan. The study examined the experience of four countries, such as Germany, the USA, Great Britain and the Russian Federation. The expert-analytical activity of VOGA in all the countries listed, except for the Russian Federation, is not legally regulated. There are no relevant norms in the laws governing the activities of VOGA. In all of the above countries, except for Russia, expert and analytical activities are not methodologically regulated. The rules, procedural standards, and audit requirements do not provide for a methodology for expert analysis. The study of documents arising from the activities of the SAIs of the above countries, such as audit reports, analytical reports, annual reports (except for the Russian Federation) allows us to conclude that expert analysis in the above countries is carried out to a greater extent during the performance audit. The experience of the abovementioned countries, as well as the study of ISSAI standards related to the implementation of the performance audit, indicates that the full-scale implementation of the performance audit can lead to the absence of the need for additional expert analytical work. Since in accordance with ISSAI 300, the performance audit itself delivers a new information, knowledge and value.

scholarly journals Rekomendacijų reikšmė užtikrinant veiklos audito rezultatyvumą viešajame sektoriuje

2014 ◽  
Vol 67 ◽  
pp. 63-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vaclovas Lakis ◽  
Jurga Nemanytė
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Institutional Performance ◽  
Efficiency And Effectiveness ◽  
Performance Audit ◽  
Performance Auditing ◽  
The Government ◽  
Governmental Institutions ◽  
And Performance ◽  
High Level

Veiklos auditas yra labai svarbi priemonė užtikrinant tinkamą kiekvienos valstybės viešojo sektoriaus funkcionavimą ir valstybės lėšų bei turto naudojimą. Galutinis veiklos audito dokumentas yra ataskaita, kurioje pateikiamos audito rekomendacijos. Jose nurodomi nustatytų klaidų ir trūkumų šalinimo būdai. Rekomendacijų įgyvendinimas yra vienas iš svarbiausių audito rezultatyvumo matavimo rodiklių.Straipsnio tikslas yra ištirti valstybinio audito rekomendacijų pobūdį ir jų įgyvendinimo problemas. Straipsnyje nagrinėjama veiklos audito mastas ir metodai, rekomendacijų samprata ir svarba, veiklos audito metu atskleisti trūkumai, pateiktų rekomendacijų pobūdis ir jų įgyvendinimo problemos.Pagrindiniai žodžiai: veiklos auditas, rekomendacijos, stebėsena.The significance of recommendations in ensuring the results of performance audit in public sectorVaclovas Lakis, Jurga Nemanytė SummaryEvery country, in order to finance public sector allocates much finances (funds). Performance audit evaluates it from the point of view of efficiency and effectiveness, which is performed by high level auditing institutions. The most risky areas of public sector are analyzed during the process of auditing. Therefore, in the process of research (investigation) the conclusions and the connection with the submitted recommendations were analyzed for the period of 2008–2012. There were defined 11 mistakes and several groups of shortcomings. Many shortcomings are related with public administration, not properly regulated certain processes or institutional performance, the determined regulations are not followed, the performance lacks control, the funds (finances) are not effectively used, the co-operation is rather negligible.Some mistakes and shortcomings appear systematically, which implicate, that the entities under auditing and governmental institutions do not pay proper attention to implementation of recommendations presented by performance auditors. Hence, having produced performance auditing, the highest audit institution provides recommendations to the entity under auditing, how to eliminate identified shortcomings and what measures should be taken in order to avoid the occurrence of such shortcomings in the future. In literature and auditing manuals it is stated, that the audited entity makes a decision on how to implement the recommendations. However, this opinion is not completely correct. It should not be assumed, that such institutions which undergo recommendations of auditing can decide on their own whether to follow these recommendations or not. Therefore, if it depended on the decision made by the entity under auditing the post-auditing activity would loosen its importance and performance would depend on the quality of recommendations.Moreover, the auditors must be very prudent in formulating recommendations; much more attention should be paid to the steps which have to be taken, but not to the process of doing it. According to each performance auditing result several recommendations can be provided to different institutions. During the period 2008–2012 – 964 recommendations were presented to different institutions. The greatest number of recommendations was addressed to the Government and other ministries. They are related with the necessity of changing regulations. According to the data presented by state control, 92% of presented recommendations were implemented. In fact, audited entities agree with the presented recommendations and seek to implement them. However, when the audited entities disagree with the provided recommendations they usually state, that recommendations are not relevant and the process of implementation is rather complicated. Therefore, the performance auditors should co-operate with audited entities in order to put into practice the recommendations, otherwise some unforeseen difficulties may occur.an>

Going Beyond Mere Accounting: The Changing Role of India's Auditor General

2013 ◽  
Vol 72 (4) ◽  
pp. 801-811 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronojoy Sen
Keyword(s):  
Public Interest ◽  
Public Forum ◽  
Public Interest Litigation ◽  
Balance Sheets ◽  
Performance Audit ◽  
The Government ◽  
Auditor General ◽  
Changing Role

In early 2013, India's then comptroller and auditor general (CAG), Vinod Rai, while delivering a speech at Harvard University's Kennedy School, wondered whether his office should be confined to being “mere accountants.” That this question could be raised in a public forum, and that too outside India, spoke to the transformation in recent times of Rai's stature and the office that he held. The winds of change were reflected in the Indian Supreme Court's rejection in 2013 of a public interest litigation challenging the authority of the auditor general, who is a constitutional authority, to conduct performance audits of the government. Significantly, the Court ruled, the “CAG is not a munim [accountant] to go into the balance-sheets. The CAG is a constitutional authority entitled to review and conduct performance audit on revenue allocations . . . and examine matters relating to the economy and how the government uses its resources.”

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