Public Sector Accounting and Budgeting

Public Sector Accounting and Budgeting

Public sector auditing in local government in England: an international perspective and public value

Document Type : Review Article

Authors
Mehdi Faraji 1
Esmail Pourgholi 2
1 Department of Accounting, Qazvin Branch, Islamic Azad University, Qazvin, Iran
2 M.A. in Governmental Management (Financial), Science & Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
10.22034/psab.2023.192684
Abstract
The idea that public auditors create value for the public and, through service delivery, lead to the increase of the public interest and its progress, and provide a type of public goods, has been confirmed. It is obvious that the public value pays attention to the government institutions to audit the accuracy of the financial statements and the regularity of their main processes and the partial trust in the government transactions. In UK and in many jurisdictions around the world, the scale and nature of public expenditure at local level has made the Public Sector Audit in Local Government an integral part of public sector auditing. Along with many individual main units that should be audited at the local level, the partnership and synergy between public institutions should also be considered by auditors. Considering the relationship between the central government and the local government, the realization of national goals through local institutions is clearly increasing, which is also a potential issue for local public auditors; Policy makers in central government recognize that greater devolution and local accountability is a necessary condition for tackling many of the damaging problems that continue to negatively affect British society. This has motivated regional/metropolitan mayors and is now being implemented across the political spectrum. Nevertheless, the delegation of authority has not yet been sufficiently realized and one of the reasons for this is the concern in the central government; Because it is believed that local accountability is weak and vulnerable to adequately investigate issues, therefore public sector audit in local government can provide a tool to build the basic trust needed to increase the delegation of authority to local governments. 
Keywords
Public sector auditing
Public value
Accountability
Local government
Public money management

Subjects

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  • Receive Date 09 May 2023
  • Revise Date 25 July 2023
  • Accept Date 25 August 2023