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IMPACT: This article highlights the relevance of assurance of sustainability reporting (SR) in the public sector, discussing who can develop the assurance process and what standards can be used for this purpose. It provides a contribution in an original and new area that will be of interest to standard setters, supreme audit institutions, practitioners and scholars in the field of public sector accounting and auditing. The article contributes to the creation of a legitimate space for SR for public sector entities. Sustainability reporting (SR) has gained momentum, but it still faces many challenges in the public sector. First, SR standards must be developed, a process started by the IPSASB. Second, to be credible, this information needs to go through an assurance process, which in turn requires the existence of relevant assurance standards. This article sheds light on the second challenge in order to analyse how assurance can be operationalized in the public sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Local governments are public legal entities that both form their own administrative structure to serve the nation and benefit from administrative autonomy while establishing relations with the central government. Audit is an understanding that deals with the methods applied by political and administrative units in fulfilling their objectives, what kind of methods they apply and the measures they need. At the same time, in national legislation, the subject of audit is included in the Law on Court of Accounts, Law on Local Authorities, Law on Municipalities, Law on Special Provincial Administration, Law on Basic Principles and Restructuring of Public Administration, Law on Public Financial Management and Control. In international legislation, the European Charter of Local Self-Government guarantees the issue of audit. The supervision of local governments is necessary for the protection of national unity and integrity, the protection of the integrity of the administration and the protection of the rights of citizens. When auditing local governments, two different methods are applied either according to the content of the audit or according to the criteria to be applied in the audit. Along with the public audit, local governments are subjected to legal compliance audit, subsidiarity audit, financial audit and performance audit. Performance audit is a process that examines the way an institution, organisation, activity or programme is managed in terms of the principles of efficiency, effectiveness and frugality and evaluates to what extent the requirements of accountability are fulfilled. In public administration, the main factor that constitutes the diversity of auditing is the auditing methods of local governments. These are political audit, judicial audit, administrative (managerial) audit, ombudsman audit and public audit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relevance of the study is due to the need to improve the efficiency of budget investments in the Republic of Kazakhstan. Performance audits of the use of these investments will reveal opportunities to optimize expenditures and increase the overall socio-economic impact, which is significant for the sustainable development of the country. In order to improve the efficiency and socio-economic return of budget expenditures, this study is focused on evaluating the efficiency of budget investments during the performance audit. This study is aimed at reviewing the role and capabilities of the performance audit, as a mechanism of public financial control of budget investments. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is used as a method for evaluating efficiency. Taking into account the reference management, the DEA algorithm is proposed to address the issue of limited input and output data to evaluate the national socio-economic development indicators. The special study of the budget investments’ technical performance in the regions of Kazakhstan shows that this method can be used since it improves the flexibility and performance of evaluation in the performance audit. The stability of the concept of performance audit is therefore confirmed, showing the need for a periodic revision of the legislative and methodological base. The study highlighted the main challenges of performance audit of budget investments in the Republic of Kazakhstan and provided recommendations for improvement.

The Audit Office of the Republic of Cyprus conducted the first-ever audit of the country's public debt, seeking answers to two key questions. Is government debt sustainable, and is debt financing efficient and effective in securing the lowest cost with acceptable risks? The audit's findings were discussed by the parliament and can have significant ramifications for public finance. However, public debt management is quite complex, and the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions suggests that sufficient technical knowledge is essential in undertaking an audit, including an understanding of the uncertain macroeconomy, financing conditions, and government fiscal stance. We use a risk management model based on scenario trees in conducting the audit. The model determines optimal debt financing strategies to benchmark the performance of the country's Public Debt Management Office and answer the audit questions. We also incorporate an integrated assessment model to examine the risks from climate change. The auditor general presented the findings to the Parliamentary Audit Committee in the presence of the Minister of Finance, and his recommendations are expected to have a significant impact on the debt operations of the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article seeks to bring evidence on public value co-creation between public auditors and auditees, with a focus on the environment, as a matter of pressing interest for the citizens. We analyse data from performance audit reports issued by the European Court of Auditors: the tonality of audit conclusions and the corresponding auditees’ replies and the degree of acceptance and implementation of audit recommendations by the auditees. The analysis is performed using the theoretical perspectives of institutional logics and public value co-creation. We use qualitative and quantitative methods, including sentiment analysis and bivariate analysis. We find evidence that the EU public auditors increased their focus on environmental issues, following an increasingly trending institutional logic of focusing on non-financial topics of public interest. However, the tonality of environment-related audit conclusions and the auditees’ replies does not differ from the non-environment-related ones. We also demonstrate that public auditors co-created public value together with the auditees through a significantly higher acceptance of their recommendations in environmental than in non-environmental audits. The article contributes to the existing literature by using data from a supranational supreme audit institution and by applying an innovative research methodology in the audit field (sentiment analysis). It also offers practitioners valuable insights on performance audit’s evolution and impact. Although the data is limited to one supreme audit institution, this research can open future research avenues to perform comparative analysis with other supreme audit institutions or extend the research scope to content analysis of the substance of audit findings.

The relevance of the study is due to the need to improve the efficiency of budget investments in the Republic of Kazakhstan. Performance audits of the use of these investments will reveal opportunities to optimize expenditures and increase the overall socio-economic impact, which is significant for the sustainable development of the country. In order to improve the efficiency and socio-economic return of budget expenditures, this study is focused on evaluating the efficiency of budget investments during the performance audit. This study is aimed at reviewing the role and capabilities of the performance audit, as a mechanism of public financial control of budget investments. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is used as a method for evaluating efficiency. Taking into account the reference management, the DEA algorithm is proposed to address the issue of limited input and output data to evaluate the national socio-economic development indicators. The special study of the budget investments’ technical performance in the regions of Kazakhstan shows that this method can be used since it improves the flexibility and performance of evaluation in the performance audit. The stability of the concept of performance audit is therefore confirmed, showing the need for a periodic revision of the legislative and methodological base. The study highlighted the main challenges of performance audit of budget investments in the Republic of Kazakhstan and provided recommendations for improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Hacettepe University Journal of Economics & Administrative Sciences / Hacettepe Üniversitesi Iktisadi ve Idari Bilimler Fakültesi Dergisi is the property of Hacettepe University, Faculty of Economic & Administrative Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article raises the problem of the need to reconceptualize the framework of the impact factors of the performance audit performed by Supreme Audit Institutions (SAI). The research aims to identify performance audit impact factors and propose an expanded, comprehensive framework. To implement the aim, the integrative method of scientific literature analysis is employed. Throughout the study, a systematic exploration of scientific literature is conducted to identify and organize hypothetical and previously researched impact factors discussed by scholars. The identified factors are aggregated according to their characteristics, meaning, or nature, and are divided into ten pillars: accountability, context, legitimacy, political overtones, quality of the performance audit, social relations, stakeholders, logic of public administration, the multifunctional activity of performance audit, and the individual. The broader framework of performance audit impact factors created will be beneficial for further research into managing these factors, enhancing evaluation opportunities, enabling performance auditors to mitigate associated risks, and capitalizing on the positive properties of these factors.

At the present time, performance audit has become a major work responsibility of auditing institutions in the world. In China, as the reform of national governance and financial modernization progresses, performance audit has received increasing attention, but it has still not been truly implemented. The purpose of this paper is to identify that influence the development of performance auditing in China. The relevance of the problem is evidenced by the growth of research in the field of public audit and performance audit in recent years. The author reviewed recent publications on this topic by Russian and Chinese authors. In the paper apply the research method to analyses keywords in the State Council Audit Report of China 2011–2021. A wide range of methods of information analysis is used. The results of the research lead to the following conclusions: the basic orientation of China’s performance audit is to supervise and serve the country’s governance; the audit field is inclined to the environment, resources, people’s livelihood, etc.; the audit content transitions from fund management and use to policy implementation and project management; audit evaluation standards increase equity and environmental friendliness on the basis of “3E” (economy, efficiency, effectiveness); audit methods highlight modern tools such as big data auditing. The attention and promotion of performance audit by the legislative authority is an essential requirement for its growth in China.

This article discusses the problems of conducting government audits, which include checking the administration itself (government programs). The demand for performance auditing has increased in recent years. This article describes foreign experience in conducting state audits. The purpose of the article is to conduct a comparative analysis of government audit systems used in China with foreign systems implemented in some Western countries and the United States. As a result, a theory of external audit will be built. This analysis is based on information from the Ministry of Finance and National Statistics of China. В данной статье рассматриваются проблемы проведения правительственных аудитов, которые включают проверку самой администрации (правительственных программ). В последние годы возрос спрос на аудит эффективности. Также авторами анализируется зарубежный опыт проведения государственных аудитов. Цель статьи – провести сравнительный анализ систем правительственного аудита, применяемых в Китае, с зарубежными системами, внедренными в некоторых западных странах и США. В результате анализа будет построена теория внешнего аудита. Данный анализ основан на информации Министерства финансов и Национальной статистики Китайской Народной Республики.

Copyright of Central Asian Economic Review is the property of Narxoz University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The study purpose was to assess the impact of public sector audit on investment climate formation under the COVID‐19 pandemic and to develop recommendations to improve its effectiveness. For this purpose, a multistage research project was developed with the participation of auditors from Russia, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine. The project was based on the primary information obtained in the course of expert interviews. Testing the methodological approach with experts from these countries allowed proving the main study hypotheses, according to which the public sector audit has an indirect positive impact on investment climate formation. Such an audit influences the main impact factors through improving public administration efficiency, the fight against corruption, and the provision of the regulatory framework. During the testing, the main directions for improving public audit for a more favorable investment climate were formulated. The developed methodological approach makes it possible to obtain an expert assessment of the impact of the public audit on investment climate formation. At the same time, partial use of statistical methods makes it possible to replicate the study in the form of an expert interview, which increases its attractiveness for researchers in conditions of shortage of qualified interviewers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Accounting & Financial Studies Journal is the property of Republic of Iraq Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MOHESR) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Accounting & Financial Studies Journal is the property of Republic of Iraq Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MOHESR) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal of Aksaray University Faculty of Economics & Administrative Sciences / Aksaray Üniversitesi Iktisadi ve Idari Bilimler Fakültesi Dergisi is the property of Aksaray University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In the last period, the importance of performance auditing missions in the public sector increased. This article presents an analysis of the current situation of performance audit in Romania and identifies the differences and similarities between this type of auditing and the other types of auditing missions made by supreme auditing institutions: financial audit and regularity audit. Based on both qualitative and quantitative analyzes, we can conclude that the performance audit is becoming an essential tool for improving the management of organizations in the public sector.

Effective business operations are the result of correct implementation and coordination of resources for the pursuit of business objectives. Organizations exist to reach a goal, and the processes are designed for this purpose. These processes are in turn staffed by people whose number and set of skills contribute to the fulfillment and are assisted by technology or machines. As a result, success is the outcome of proper planning and effective alignment of people, processes and technology. This article highlights the necessary steps, thought processes and risks involved in running a successful organization, and all the aspects included in the concept of “performance”.

As a part of European funding in Romania, the European Social Fund (ESF) has always to be subject of efficient spending. Assessing its efficiency is about how financed budgets are correlated with program’s associated indicators for each call of proposal. The managing authority is establishing a set of rules that should allow European Commission as the donor and the general public as last instance beneficiary that funds are spend within selected and reimbursed budgets in an efficient manner. Efficiency in ESF funded projects can be assessed by using a linear regression model to describe applicants behaviours, to conclude about spending budgets and to propose further improvements is possible, as conclusions of this paper shows. Conclusions may be subject of further developments by interested researchers and also by other interested parties in current sound financial implementation of ESF in Romania: managing authority personnel, external public auditors, internal auditors, beneficiaries’ financial managers.

This article is aimed at policy-makers and contributes to the debate on the shift towards performance and non-financial auditing in public sector organizations. It offers useful insights that national regulators and standard setters can consider when introducing new rules and standards in the audit sphere. Regulators and standard setters interested in teasing out the professional support that auditors can offer need to be aware of the need to blend economic efficiency targets with more sophisticated and sometimes not quantifiable assessment methods on specific topics. This article contributes to the debate on the emergence of performance and non-financial auditing in the public sector and covers a gap in the literature regarding supra-national audit institutions. The authors investigate whether the European Court of Auditors' audit methods are aligned with the different public sector paradigms (Public Administration, New Public Management and New Public Governance) using institutional logics perspectives: bureaucratic logic, managerial logic and public value logic. Their results confirm that performance auditing has led to ECA focusing on non-financial issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research discusses the role of BPK through insight and oversight function to improve the management of the Indonesian Migrant Workers (PMI) program. The study was conducted using a qualitative approach by analyzing the contents of the performance audit report as well as the viewpoint/opinion of BPK regarding Indonesian migrant workers released by BPK from 2010 to 2021. Various performance audits are carried out periodically by BPK by targeting PMI recipient countries with various characteristics, which determine various strategies regarding the dynamics of policies in PMI recipient countries. This study concludes that BPK plays a significant role in encouraging the improvement of PMI management through various performance audit recommendations and viewpoints/opinions. These audit recommendations have carried out the insight and oversight functions related to governance and implementation of the PMI program, as well as policies that need to be improved accordingly. Traditionally seen as only conducting financial audits, performance audits conducted by BPK, primarily through insight and oversight functions, can evidently improve government management related to the Indonesian Migrant Workers program.

Copyright of Public Administration & Civil Service / Memlekettìk Basķaru Ža̋ne Memlekettìk Ķyzmet is the property of Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan / Akademiya Gosun and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In the last twenty years, the European Court of Auditors has placed increasing importance on producing "special reports" examining the economy, efficiency and effectiveness of EU spending, particularly concerning the Shadow Bank System. This institutional focus on performance audit, alongside traditional financial and compliance audit, has occurred when the European Union is increasingly evaluating its policies and programmes under political pressure to demonstrate their added value with Shadow Bank Systems. The rapid growth of the market-based financial system since the mid-1990s changed the nature of financial intermediation in the European States. "European Shadow Banks Systems" are essential institutions within the marketbased financial system. European Shadow Banks Systems are financial intermediaries that conduct maturity, credit, and liquidity transformation without access to central bank liquidity or public sector credit guarantees. Examples of the European Shadow Banks System include finance companies, asset-backed commercial paper (ABCP) conduits, limited-purpose finance companies, structured investment vehicles, credit hedge funds, money market mutual funds, securities lenders, and governmentsponsored enterprises. This intermediation chain binds European Shadow Banks Systems into a network. The European Shadow Banking System rivals the traditional banking system in the intermediation of credit to households and businesses. This study contributes theoretically to research and empirically to the management practice of agile marketing concepts in digital transformation and international business contexts to develop practical competencies of speed, flexibility, and customer responsiveness in marketing strategies and operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the modern world, the availability of transparent and reliable information about the performance of public sector entities is becoming increasingly important. Besides the accounting systems that provide this information, the role of Supreme Audit Institutions is growing. As previous research in Europe has focused on EU or Nordic countries, the intention of our paper was to analyze the development of performance audits in selected south-east European countries. The results show that performance audits are still less of a priority for auditors and parliaments, and the impacts of performance audits are realized through follow-up processes.

In the modern world, the availability of transparent and reliable information about the performance of public sector entities is becoming increasingly important. Besides the accounting systems that provide this information, the role of Supreme Audit Institutions is growing. As previous research in Europe has focused on EU or Nordic countries, the intention of our paper was to analyze the development of performance audits in selected south-east European countries. The results show that performance audits are still less of a priority for auditors and parliaments, and the impacts of performance audits are realized through follow-up processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: This study conducts a pilot test analyzing reports from New York, New Jersey, and California and uses textual analytics to reengineer government performance audit reporting. It advocates a performance audit database that can facilitate easier access and extract relevant information from lengthy reports in a timely manner. The study presents a framework to identify the commonalities and differences in terminologies used by sampled states, evaluates and extracts relevant content from the reports according to Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards requirements, and constructs a taxonomy specific to government performance audits. Furthermore, this study investigates the disclosure quality by examining linguistic and similarity features, such as report length, specificity, readability, comprehensibility, and content similarity. This paper raises attention to a key legislative task that requires reporting reforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Performance audits, conducted by both internal and external auditors in public administration, play a crucial role in assessing effectiveness. This research focuses on the experiences of the Supreme Audit Institution (SAI) in Poland, delving into the effects of performance audits. Previous studies from selected developed countries shed light on performance audit impact, categorised as instrumental, conceptual, interactive, and political-legitimating. However, the generalisability of these findings is constrained by limited research, varying institutional and social contexts, and country-specific factors. To address these gaps, the authors of his study aim to expand knowledge on performance audit effectiveness indicators. Research Design & Methods: The research combines a literature review, analytical induction through interviews with SAI executives, and analysis of SAI activity reports from 2019-2021. Findings: The study reveals diverse interpretations of performance audit effectiveness among SAI delegation directors, encompassing process, results, and effects. Additionally, the research identifies indicators relevant to assessing performance auditing effectiveness in the Polish context. It emphasises the need for context-specific evaluations due to differing institutional and social conditions across countries. Implications/Recommendations: While acknowledging limitations, including the small sample size, this pilot study paves the way for future research to validate its hypotheses, explore factors influencing performance audit effectiveness, and compare practices across countries. Ultimately, it aims to enhance the effectiveness of performance audits in public administration. Contribution / Value Added: This research contributes to academia and practice by offering comprehensive performance audit effectiveness indicators. It introduces a novel indicator related to reporting infringements in public finance law and discipline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective business operations are the result of correct implementation and coordination of resources for the pursuit of business objectives. Organizations exist to reach a goal, and the processes are designed for this purpose. These processes are in turn staffed by people whose number and set of skills contribute to the fulfillment and are assisted by technology or machines. As a result, success is the outcome of proper planning and effective alignment of people, processes and technology. This article highlights the necessary steps, thought processes and risks involved in running a successful organization, and all the aspects included in the concept of "performance". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on audits of public administrations performed by Supreme Audit Offices (SAO). The aim of the paper is to assess the performance of audit activities by the highest audit institutions in the Visegrad Four (V4) countries with a focus on the types of audits performed (compliance audits, performance audits, financial audits) in the period of 2005-2020. Pearson's correlation coefficient and Spearman's correlation coefficient were used to test the set hypotheses. The study focuses on the relationships between the number of audits performed (especially compliance audits and performance audits) and the volume of audit findings, recommendations and actions. Compliance audits predominate in the Slovak Republic and Hungary. However, the current trend is to gradually increase the share of performance audits. Most performance audits were carried out in the Czech Republic. The analysis found a statistically significant relationship between the number of performance audits performed and the number of auditors' recommendations in Poland and Hungary. In addition there is a statistically significant relationship between the number of performance audits performed and the number of audit findings in Poland and the Czech Republic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The financial indicators reported in the budget execution accounts of the local public administrations have implications in the assessment of the level of performance regarding the achievement of the own revenues of these public entities. The objective of the paper is to examine the causal link between the level of performance in achieving own revenues and that of the financial autonomy of local public administrations. The paper includes a summary of the evolution of legal regulations in Romania specific to local public administration and own revenue management, as well as an analysis of information highlighted in budget execution accounts published by entities for 2018-2020, and the latest annual reports published by the Court of Accounts of Romania regarding the deviations found and the audit opinion formulated following the financial audit missions in order to identify the aspects that may influence the level of performance in achieving its own revenues at the level of local public administrations. The sample consists of territorial administrative units classified as cities in the Western Region of Romania, which are not municipalities and are found in Arad County. The results of the study revealed that some cities had a fairly high level of performance in generating their own revenues, and some reported increasing capital expenditures from year to year, but in most cases the degree of achievement of their own revenues still remains quite low. The conclusion is that the degree of achievement of own revenues is in most cases at a level that needs to be improved, and payments for capital expenditures are still quite low, so none of the cities in the selected sample have the opportunity to be financed exclusively from own revenues.

Background: According to the characteristics of public hospitals, review the flexibility of the components of their management accounting system is necessary. The aim of the present study is to identify the factors affecting the audit of the performance of executive managers of public hospitals. Methods and Materials: This is a qualitative study and data were collected through interviews with 15 public hospital experts, including five hospital managers, four ward managers, and three resource and support assistants, two administrative assistants with at least ten years of experience, who were familiar with accounting. The sampling method was a combination of targeted and snowball methods and open, axial and selective coding methods were used to analyze the data. Results: Based on the findings of the study of the two central phenomena of budgeting and financial reporting, the factors affecting the audit performance of executive managers of public hospitals were identified. The field of auditing, the field of organizational management and the field of structure were three categories related to causal conditions. Structural factors at the level of public institutions, structural factors and behavioral factors at the level of medical universities, including strategic and empowerment conditions, establishment conditions, techniques and requirements for auditing were recognized as the underlying conditions. Environmental factors, applicable laws and regulations are among the mediating / intervening conditions. Also, the categories of public sector productivity, economic efficiency, effectiveness, efficiency and achievement of organizations were recognized as outcomes related to auditing the performance of executive managers of public hospitals. Conclusion: Recognizing the factors affecting the performance audit of public hospital managers is extremely significant and should be designed based on its affecting components, a standard and integrated auditing system for auditing the performance of public hospital managers.

In the last period, the importance of performance auditing missions in the public sector increased. This article presents an analysis of the current situation of performance audit in Romania and identifies the differences and similarities between this type of auditing and the other types of auditing missions made by supreme auditing institutions: financial audit and regularity audit. Based on both qualitative and quantitative analyzes, we can conclude that the performance audit is becoming an essential tool for improving the management of organizations in the public sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Polish Journal of Management Studies is the property of Czestochowa University of Technology, Faculty of Management and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Despite the significant results that State Audit Institution achieved in the domain of determining regularities of doing business and truthfulness of financial reports of budget users, performance audit was given significantly less attention, which points to the necessity of developing a methodology for this discipline, as well as a technique to apply it. This contribution represents an attempt to apply a technique of finding hidden knowledge-implicit knowledge (Data mining - DM) in the process of auditing public procurement procedures and illustrating the significance of developing a technique for assessing the purposefulness of using budget assets on an example of public procurements performed in an agricultural company.

Research Question: What is the impact of the performance audit missions on the activity of the Romanian public institutions? Motivation: Public resources' management and use, public sector entities' performance, in the context of the economic environment turbulences and of the complexity and heterogeneity of the public services demand are of interest to a wide range of interested parties. Thus, the informational valences of the performance audit represent for the public sector management, a credible and relevant information source to substantiate the decision-making process focused on performance and circumscribed to the community members. Idea: The paper includes an empirical research on the investigation of the public sector management perception regarding the impact of the performance audit missions performed by the Romanian Court of Accounts, on the public institutions activity. Data: Information regarding the performed missions and the entities subject to performance audit was collected by reviewing the Romanian Court of Accounts' portfolio of publications (available online on the institution's official website). The email addresses of the respondents were collected by consulting the official web pages of the audited entities (contact section). Tools: The research is based on the study of the public sector management’s perception regarding the performance audit missions performed by the Romanian Court of Accounts. In this regard, we developed and disseminated questionnaires to the management of public sector entities subject to performance audit within the period 2015-2019. Complementarily, in order to identify the tendencies and the respondents’ homogeneous perceptions, the descriptive analysis is completed by cluster analysis and multidimensional scaling. Data processing, clustering and the results’ analysis were performed using the SPSS statistical software. Findings: The research results show that performance auditing contributes to improving the economicity, efficiency and effectiveness in the public resources use, but its usefulness is inversely proportional to the professional experience of the respondents within the audited entity. The respondents also consider that the performance audits’ objectives are appropriate to the sensitive areas related to the activity of public institutions, and their results provide a fair image regarding the public resources' management and use. Concerning the performance audit reports, the respondents consider them objective, rigorous, credible, and the collaboration and communication of the auditors with the entity are appreciated as successful elements of the performance audit missions. Contribution: The paper adds value to the specialized literature, given that the performance audit issue in the vision of the public sector management has not been addressed in Romania, being also limited internationally. The research results are also of interest to both the professional and the socio-economic environment, concerned with the public sector entities performance.

As a part of European funding in Romania, the European Social Fund (ESF) has always to be subject of efficient spending. Assessing its efficiency is about how financed budgets are correlated with program's associated indicators for each call of proposal. The managing authority is establishing a set of rules that should allow European Commission as the donor and the general public as last instance beneficiary that funds are spend within selected and reimbursed budgets in an efficient manner. Efficiency in ESF funded projects can be assessed by using a linear regression model to describe applicants behaviours, to conclude about spending budgets and to propose further improvements is possible, as conclusions of this paper shows. Conclusions may be subject of further developments by interested researchers and also by other interested parties in current sound financial implementation of ESF in Romania: managing authority personnel, external public auditors, internal auditors, beneficiaries' financial managers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public procurement in Ukraine was and, unfortunately, remains one of the main areas of corruption abuse at all levels of government; as a result, the state suffers significant financial losses. Therefore, the state external financial audit, which is carried out by the Accounts Chamber of Ukraine, is an important component of the public procurement control system. Checking the effectiveness of public procurement is a rather complicated procedure, because effectiveness can be evaluated in different ways. The purpose of the article is to reveal the essence of the concept of “performance audit” from the standpoint of the implementation of control functions by the subjects of audit. The comparative analysis of the state audit forms was carry out. The conceptual models for increasing the efficiency of state institutions were systematized. It was determined that the issues of performance audit of public procurement may include: general issues (strategic (pragmatic), current, industry, social, environmental) that are used to assess the effectiveness of the public procurement process at the level of customers and participants; individual questions used to assess the effectiveness of an individual purchase at the level of any customer. It was revealed that the performance audit of public procurement as a component of state external financial control provides for verification on the basis of such criteria as: thrift, effectiveness, successfulness. The object of the performance audit is all types of resources (budget funds, state property, labor resources), as well as the mechanism for their transformation into a final product (service). The optimization of transformation mechanism is the most important task of performance audit. It was proved that the assessment of overall effectiveness is impossible without the existence of additional criteria and their integrated application with basic ones. The authors propose the following additional criteria: the timeliness, quality, expediency of public procurement. These criteria have a significant impact on the financial and social aspects of the further use of goods and services purchased through public procurement at the expense of state or local budgets, and therefore must be taken into account when conducting performance audit.

The article discusses the concept and application of performance audit in public administration integral to the modern public financial control system. The aim of the study is to analyze the public financial control system using modern approaches to audit performance and its development prospects in Russia. The authors use general scientific and special research methods (analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction), as well as methods of economic theory: positive analysis and scientific abstraction. The study analyzed basic approaches to defining the concept of “performance audit”, its idea, the most important issues that it solves, and development prospects. The study proposed the concept of a two-level control system: the internal control bodies represented by the Federal Treasury of the Russian Federation should supplement the bodies conducting the performance audit. In the future, this will help build a full performance audit system of the use of public financial resources. As a result, the authors identified the problems of implementing the proposed concept. The key problem is the different statuses of the Federal Treasury of Russia and the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation, with different regulation of their activities. The authors named directions for the development of the public financial control system when it is impossible to implement the proposed system. In particular, they proposed to review and precisely regulate the activities of all public financial control bodies. The authors concluded that there is still no regulatory, legal and informational base necessary to switch to the proposed two-level performance audit system. Further studies may provide a deeper look at the possibilities and prospects of the integrated implementation of the performance audit system in the general government sector.

Introduction: Regarding the role of performance auditing in accountability, this study aims to evaluate the Supreme Audit Court auditors' perception of performance auditing. Method: This applied study has a descriptive survey research design. The sample consists of 267 auditors of the Supreme Audit Court of Iran. We collected the data by distributing standard questionnaires and analyzed them using the binominal-test. Results: The results indicate that the effectiveness assessment is part of the performance audit process. Auditors need to enter into decision-making and policy-making fields in order to have better performance audits. Public sector auditors have the necessary qualifications for performance auditing, but they need to use other specialists in the performance audit team. The Supreme Audit Court's performance audits are currently effective in improving the public sector management, but ineffective in terms of accountability. Conclusion: In order for the performance audits to be done in more effectively, the Supreme Audit Court should develop its scope to the areas of decision-making and policy-making; and in annual planning, The Supreme Audit Court should act in such a way as to provide the grounds for entering these areas from the perspective of evaluating the results of the decisions made. Also, in other subjects, the Supreme Audit Court should consider relying on experts.

Today, in modern business, all organizations and farms, are required to maximize organizational performance in order to achieve appropriate market success. In order to raise organizational performance to the maximum level, continuous monitoring of business activities and their results is necessary. They are monitored by internal control, ie internal audit. Within their sales channels, farms often set up their holdings without a predefined sales plan with well-defined costs. A constant obstacle to the marketing of agricultural products, in addition to the low price, is the high cost of realization. For this reason, the state tries to support the development of farms and promote the sale of agricultural products through various incentive measures. In order to evaluate how much these measures really contribute to its development, it is necessary to conduct a research on this topic and, based on the results of the research, to devise a model of the performance audit of incentive measures for sales channels of agricultural products which are produced on agricultural households of the Republic of Serbia.The abstract should contain a maximum of 150 words. The abstracts should avoid any abbreviations and mathematical formulas.

The features and problems of the development of external municipal financial control have been considered. According to the results of the analysis of the activity of the ISSC, the main reasons and factors, affecting the effectiveness of their activities have been determined. It has been noted, that due to the lack of the possibility of forming CSR with a number, that allows you for the full and qualitative implementation of the powers vested in CSR, the external municipal financial control in the republic needs to be reformed. Based on the study, it has been concluded, that it is necessary to initiate the transfer of authority of the ISSA to the level of the subject through the implementation of a pilot project to transfer the authority of CSR, the municipality that is least covered by external financial control to the level of the Audit Chamber of the Republic of Tuva. In the case of the implementation of this project, the quality of fulfilling the powers to conduct examination of municipal legal acts, control and expert-analytical activities, and reduce control risks will increase.

This study is necessitated by a detailed analysis of the types of audit, in particular, the performance audit of the quasi-public sector. The purpose of this study was to investigate one of the most effective mechanisms of state financial control – performance audit. The main research methods included the method of system analysis, the method of analysis and synthesis, and the method of the system approach. It was pointed out that the performance audit constitutes a detailed audit of the activities of persons who manage the received public funds, aimed at determining the effectiveness of the use of budget funds as an indicator of their competence in performing the functions assigned to them and the tasks set. The main difference between a performance audit and any control activity is that it should not end with the conventional preparation of a report on its results. The obvious vulnerabilities of the performance audit were also identified with the currently available legislative and methodological framework, and its concepts were presented in accordance with the audit standards adopted by the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions. As a result, the study proved the relevance of the concept of performance audit, but it requires systematic preparation of the legislative, regulatory, and methodological framework, taking into account the specific features of the country's development.

This study is necessitated by a detailed analysis of the types of audit, in particular, the performance audit of the quasi-public sector. The purpose of this study was to investigate one of the most effective mechanisms of state financial control – performance audit. The main research methods included the method of system analysis, the method of analysis and synthesis, and the method of the system approach. It was pointed out that the performance audit constitutes a detailed audit of the activities of persons who manage the received public funds, aimed at determining the effectiveness of the use of budget funds as an indicator of their competence in performing the functions assigned to them and the tasks set. The main difference between a performance audit and any control activity is that it should not end with the conventional preparation of a report on its results. The obvious vulnerabilities of the performance audit were also identified with the currently available legislative and methodological framework, and its concepts were presented in accordance with the audit standards adopted by the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions. As a result, the study proved the relevance of the concept of performance audit, but it requires systematic preparation of the legislative, regulatory, and methodological framework, taking into account the specific features of the country's development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper analyses the impact that performance audit has on improving procurement activities which lead to enhanced value for money. Therefore, the goal was to establish whether or not procurement-focused performance audits generally had an impact on undertaking positive actions/changes within the audited institutions in Kosovo. Methodology: OLM model is used to test the hypothesis raised that what kind of impact did performance audits have on changes undertaken within the entity that would enhance the value for money in the procurement process. The data was obtained through a questionnaire administered with 86 officials within institutions which were subject to performance audits carried out by the KNAO. Findings: We have managed to illustrate which were the changes undertaken by the audited entities after the audit and also determine that auditees' perceptions are generally positive concerning the role of the Kosovo National Audit Office (KNAO) as a factor in improving performance and undertaking changes within entities. As well, the model results shows a positive and significant relationship between performance audit and changes undertaken by auditee institutions, confirming once again the positive role of the Kosovo NAO. Originality/Value: The main contribution of our research is to draw attention to the impact of performance audit in countries with high levels of corruption and irregularities, such as Kosovo. In addition, this research reveals audit entities key persons' perceptions, on the factors that influence the undertaking of changes that derive from performance audits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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