AUDITING OF PERFORMANCE INFORMATION BY EXTERNAL AUDITORS

Abstract

Our aim in this article is to present to the interested an innovation in the field of external public audit as an institution that serves the good governance of the respective countries. The scope of this kind of new performance audit will aim at standardizing the objective measurements of performance in the form of indicators, derived from performance information. This will soon be a very effective and acceptable audit model by public and private institutions, in order to achieve the objectives through an economic, efficient and effective use of human resources of theSAIs ,but also of the public entities.
According to the US, EU and other modern countries models, public or private institutions prepare annual budgets based on performance programs, linking them to performance targets. At the end of the year, an activity report is prepared, where the comparison between the budget outcomes and the predetermined objectives is made. Under the new conditions each public entity must perform its budget based on the performance created by achieving short-term and strategic objectives. Performance-Based Budgeting enables the public institutions to orient themselves towards the realization of their mission and vision by defining the resources for achieving their goals and objectives.
Performance audit is based on the monitoring of these units. The monitoring and evaluation of the system is mainly accomplished through ongoing monitoring, self-evaluation and internal audit.Assessing and measuring the performance of a public institution is of primary importance for assessing the contribution of the institution to its country's public life and to guarantee a sustainable development in the future. The standardized performance measurement of public institutions and the promotion of accountability throughout the public sector with the best practices of the European Union and international INTOSAI standards will bring a contribution of external auditors to good governance through the fight against corruption and increase citizens' trust by being transparenttowards their citizens. Audit of performance information is a new approach that has started to imply in some Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs), and is delivering the first fruits in some ways.The ability to set accurate indicators to measure the progress of public institutions in achieving the objectives is seen as a good way of informing the parliament and the public.