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Background: Performance auditing is one requirement for public sector managers to be accountable to the public. It offers an unbiased evaluation of the responsibilities, effectiveness, or expenses linked to implementing policies, programs, or operations in the public sector. This paper aims to develop a performance auditing model in the health sector. Methods: This qualitative study is based on grounded theory. A sample of 16 individuals, including university professors specializing in performance auditing and managers and experts, particularly those with a background in the public health sector service designing and development, were selected using theoretical sampling. The interviews were analyzed using Strauss and Corbin’s three-stage coding process, and summarization and analysis were carried out using MAXQDA software. Results: Based on the results, the concepts related to contextual conditions include formulating appropriate laws and regulations (as the main category) and two subcategories. In causal conditions, empowerment and utilizing specialized and efficient human resources (as the main category) and five subcategories were extracted. The central phenomena consist of laying the groundwork for performance auditing (main category) and three subcategories. Two main categories for strategies and actions were identified: managing internal organizational goals and controlling internal policies, with two subcategories for each. In the intervening conditions, intra-organizational economic factors (main category) and three subcategories were determined. Finally, the outcomes include organizational structuring and productivity (two main categories), with two subcategories for each. Conclusion: several factors are crucial for improving performance auditing in the health sector, including empowering and utilizing specialized and efficient human resources, implementing appropriate laws and regulations, managing organizational goals, structuring the organization effectively, controlling internal policies, considering internal economic factors, establishing a framework for performance auditing, and enhancing organizational productivity.

PurposeThis paper aims at reflecting on the changing boundaries of public sector auditing. In particular the paper focusses on the opportunities and challenges for performance auditing, for sustainable development auditing and digitalised public sector auditing.Design/methodology/approachBuilding from the papers in this special issue, the authors draw on the literature on current development of public sector auditing (such as public sector auditing performance auditing, sustainable development auditing and digitalised public sector auditing) and propose a future research agenda.FindingsThe “changing boundaries” of public sector auditing may influence the difficulty for public sector organisations to manage the uncertainties and risks not only associated to corruption but also the public governance development (collaborative, digital and emergency governance). The authors speculate on the role that the “changing boundaries” of public sector auditing can play.Originality/valueThe paper contributes by setting new research avenues for future studies on public sector auditing in a post-new public management context.

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 emergence of performance auditing; and shedding light on public sector auditing in the less explored context of a post-Soviet country.

[...]the potential limitations in the forestry sector regarding the incorporation of anti-corruption measures into Serbia's forest policy (Rogelja and Shannon, 2017). The significance of auditing in the implementation and monitoring of state forest protection policy, as part of the broader sustainable development policy, can be fully understood only when considered in the context of the activities of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of April 26, 2011, and the adoption of Resolution 2011/2, which recognized the importance and role of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions INTOSAD? and national Supreme Audit Institutions (SAls).· These two documents emphasized the vital role of public sector auditing in sustainable development policy, particularly through the practice of performance auditing. [...]the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide an ambitious and long-term \"plan of action for people, the planet, and prosperity\" for all nations. A ,, desk research\" approach was applied, involving the analysis of data available on the official websites of Supreme Audit Institutions of the Western Balkan countries, the EU, and the European Court of Auditors.

Purpose: The research aims to shed light on the theoretical and defining aspect of performance audit in light of the economic elements of the report, efficiency and effectiveness, and its reflection on the performance of external control.   Theoretical framework: the external control represented by the Federal Financial Supervision Bureau and the effective role played by the performance audit in diagnosing the performance elements represented by the economy, efficiency, and effectiveness in the work of external control.   Design/methodology/approach: The research methodology relied on the inductive approach in defining the problem of the study by defining the role that performance auditing provides in diagnosing the points of a defect in the external control to shift from the general to the specific, as well as relying on the deductive approach in order to shift from the specific to the general by generalizing the recommendations and highlighting what Elements of the performance report (economic, efficiency, effectiveness).   Findings: the economic component. There is a waste of the available energy due to the long-term vacations granted to auditors working in the Federal Bureau of Financial Supervision. In terms of the efficiency component, the performance of the Federal Bureau of Financial Supervision decreased in answering complaints received on the whistleblowing service. Financial institutions in government institutions, as well as a decrease in the element of effectiveness when exploiting the allocations allocated to them in the annual financial budget.   Research, Practical & Social implications: Moreover, a statement of the impact on the applied side of the elements of the performance report (economic, efficiency, effectiveness) on auditing the performance of the work of the external oversight bodies in the Iraqi environment, represented by the Federal Financial Supervision Bureau.   Originality/value: This study is one of the very few studies that focus on the performance audit elements (economic, efficiency, effectiveness) in the performance audit report on the work of the Federal Financial Supervision Bureau because of the role of these elements in diagnosing strengths and defects in performance.

In order to promote the higher vocational education to serve the national strategy, and thus create a number of high-level vocational schools and core specialties (clusters), Chinese government launched the first round of “Double High-level Plan” project in 2019. As the construction of the first round of “Double High-level Plan” project enters the final acceptance stage, the implementation of “Double High-level Plan” project performance auditing is a key part of passing the “Double High-level Plan” project acceptance. Based on the “5E” theory, this study takes “Double High-level Plan” project as the studying object, discussing the connotation, the content, the construction of performance evaluation indicators system framework, the methodologies of performance auditing, etc., with a view to providing some theoretical and practical guidance for the implementation of the “Double High-level Plan” project performance auditing.According to the education department and the financial department jointly issued the “high level of higher vocational schools and professional construction plan performance management method”, schools should take the initiative to accept education, supervision, disciplinary inspection, financial departments of supervision and inspection, in strict accordance with the law to accept the supervision of the external audit department, after found the problem in time, and full implementation. This plan shows the importance the country attaches to the performance of the “Double High-level Plan” project units, and how to do the relevant work well is an important problem facing the school at present. In the context of the era of big data, the use of big data technology to build the performance auditing mode of data-type “Double High-level Plan” projects should start from the following aspects.

PurposeThis technical paper has two purposes. It firstly aims to explore Supreme Audit Institutions' information disclosure of Sustainable Development Goals’ related performance auditing practices by focusing on four Balkan countries: Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Slovenia. Secondly, it aims to investigate whether membership in the European Union, in conjunction with the adoption of unified EU legislation and best practices in socio-economic and political spheres, influences the level of disclosure practices in SDGs’ auditing and the national approaches to auditing SDG-related topics.Design/methodology/approachThe study employs a content analysis approach to examine the annual reports of SAIs as government audit bodies in the aforementioned countries. The analysis focuses on the disclosure of SDGs’ information and the level of performance auditing conducted concerning the SDGs. Furthermore, the study utilizes the Spearman rank-order correlation test to explore whether membership in the European Union influences the frequency of SDG-related audits and the amount of information disclosed.FindingsThe findings highlight that the Slovenian SAI stands out for its comprehensive information disclosure in annual reports related to SDGs or sustainability reporting. It also demonstrates a high level of performance auditing on SDG topics. Following closely are the Macedonian and Croatian SAIs, which also exhibit noteworthy performance in these areas. In contrast, the Montenegrin SAI displays the lowest level of information disclosure and has conducted fewer performance audits related to SDGs. Furthermore, the study reveals that there is no significant correlation between EU membership and the extent of SDG disclosure in the SAIs' annual reports and the level of performance auditing.Research limitations/implicationsIt is important to acknowledge that this study is limited in scope, focusing solely on the annual reports of SAIs in four countries. Additionally, the research does not explore the fundamental factors that contribute to the variations in SDG auditing levels among SAIs.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the expanding literature on the implementation and monitoring of the SDGs by providing valuable insights into the extent of SDG-related performance auditing conducted by SAIs and the level of information disclosure within their annual reports. The findings have implications for policymakers, auditors, and other stakeholders involved in fostering sustainable development practices and accountability mechanisms.

PurposeThis paper aims to interpret the role and professional issues of public sector performance auditing (PA) as a mechanism of neoliberal governmentality in the New Public Management (NPM) era by drawing on a Foucauldian conceptual lens to chart directions for future research.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses the Foucauldian concepts of visibility and identity to interpret PA against the background of neoliberal imperatives of public sector management.FindingsAs the growing emphasis on PA in recent decades can be understood as driven by the concurrent development of neoliberal and NPM rationalities, the relatively underexploited concepts of visibility and identity allow further inquiry into important PA issues. This paper identifies avenues for future research under the following three themes: the issue of visibility in neoliberal governmentality and potential for auditors-general to expand the domain of influence of National Audit Offices through the PA role; the potential for PA as a unified distinct specialisation; and the neoliberal idea of professional identity as the individual expert and its interplay with the potential emergence of PA as a distinct function within the accounting profession.Research limitations/implicationsThis conceptual paper is anticipated to stimulate future PA research. Key areas in this respect include the position and authority afforded to PA and the possibility of transformation in auditors’ conception of their professional worldview.Originality/valueThis paper charts direction for future research by interpreting PA using Foucauldian concepts of visibility and identity that remain to be exploited in PA research.

Development of an integrated audit approach in state auditing enabled, in addition to financial audit and audit of regulatory compliance, audit of the public sector’s entities performance at the same time. Thus performance audit (success, value-for-money) gets primacy within the scope of activity of the supreme audit institutions. The goal of such an activity is to point to the development and importance of auditing effectiveness in the State Audit Institution (SAI) in the Republic of Serbia, emphasising reporting on performance auditing, detected irregularities in the use of budgetary resources and recommendations made to the public sector entities by SAI, as well as following them up for the purpose of more effective management and use of state property and state funds.

Purpose This paper aims to provide insights into how the New Zealand Office of the Auditor-General (NZOAG) legitimised the selection of topics for performance audit in the New Zealand public health sector over a 10-year period, 2003-2013, by fulfilling the key actors’ “taken for granted beliefs” of the dual roles of the NZOAG: its independence and accountability. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses evidence gathered from interviews with representatives of the District Health Boards, the Ministry of Health (including Health Advisory Committee members) and NZOAG staff, along with publically available documentary evidence over a 10-year period. The authors draw on Suchman’s (1995) authority on institutional legitimacy to inform the research findings. Findings The New Zealand Auditors-General (NZAGs) get inputs from various sources such as their own audit teams, parliamentary deliberations, the Ministry of Health, the District Health Boards, media and public concerns and complaints. These sources initiate ideas for performance audits. Subsequently, the NZAGs use the recurring themes and risk assessment criteria while simultaneously consulting with the auditees (the MOH and the DHBs) and other actors, such as health advisory groups, to select topics for such audits. This signals to the key actors, such as the MOH and the DHBs, that the NZOAG is addressing the topics and concerns relevant to the former while discharging its public accountability role. Furthermore, the consultative approach acts as a catalyst, ensuring that the actors involved with public sector health service delivery, specifically the auditees, accept the selected topic. This leads to a lack of resistance to and criticism of the topic; the selection process, therefore, is legitimatised, and credibility is added to the audits. Because of the consultative approach taken by the NZAGs, the actors, including the performance auditors, continue to believe that the Office acts independently from third party influence in selecting their audit topics, elevating the NZAGs’ moral legitimacy with respect to their public accountability role. Research limitations/implications The study’s focus group does not include parliamentary representatives, only representatives from the DHBs, the MOH and the NZOAG; therefore, the conclusions on effective discharge of the NZOAG’s accountability role and Parliamentary acceptance is not conclusive – the NZOAG acts on behalf of the Parliament in discharging its accountability role and the latter is also the formal recipient of the reports. Practical implications The implications for practitioners and policymakers are that the use of a consultative approach to select topics for performance audit in the absence of performance auditing standards ensures auditee readiness and acceptance of such audits. This also promotes mutual benefits and “trust” between the AG and auditees. Such audits can be used to bring about efficacy in health service delivery. Social implications The selected topics for audits will have an impact on citizens’ lifestyles, with improved health services delivery. Originality/value There is a dearth of research on who initiates the ideas for performance auditing and how the Office of the Auditor-General selects topics for such audits. This study adds a new dimension to the existing performance auditing literature. The authors reveal how the NZOAG seeks to legitimise the selection of topics for such audits by consulting with the auditees and other actors associated with public sector health service delivery, while upholding its independent status and making transparent how it discharges its accountability role within the context of performance auditing.