scholarly journals Organizing municipal audit: contracting out and audit costs in Norway

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Åge Johnsen
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Public Management ◽  
Audit Quality ◽  
Audit Fees ◽  
Professional Service ◽  
Contracting Out ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Audit Market ◽  
House Production

PurposeThis paper analyses the deregulation of the municipal audit market in Norway, in particular how organization of the service affected audit costs.Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses multiple regression analysis of administrative as well as survey data of organizational structure and audit costs from 312 municipalities in Norway in 2012.FindingsThe introduction of contracting out in the municipal audit market in Norway in 2004 contributed to a reduction in audit fees eight years after the deregulation, compared to the situation four years before the deregulation. The type of audit, mixing inter-municipal co-operation and contracting private auditors, was related to lower costs.Research limitations/implicationsThe data does not include audit quality and are restricted to one country.Practical implicationsThe municipalities that combined inter-municipal co-operation and contracting a private auditor achieved the lowest costs. Hence, neither pure in-house production (“make”) nor outsourcing (“buy”) but mixing several governance forms (hybrid organization) was related to low costs.Social implicationsContracting out is a core element of new public management (NPM) but has often been a contested tool in public policy. This paper provides empirical evidence on the effects of a reform of a professional service, which is relevant for many services in the public sector.Originality/valueThis paper contributes by filling some of the gaps in the public sector accounting and public management reform literature by studying the organization and costs of the municipal audit, specifically by including transaction costs, addressing plural governance forms in addition to pure in-house production, inter-organizational co-operation and market contracting and by studying long-term effects.

scholarly journals Accounting and the post-new public management

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 255-279 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ileana Steccolini
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Public Administration ◽  
Public Management ◽  
New Public Management ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Accounting Research ◽  
Societal Relevance ◽  
New Public ◽  
Public Sector Accounting

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to reflect various pathways for public sector accounting and accountability research in a post-new public management (NPM) context. Design/methodology/approach The paper first discusses the relationship between NPM and public sector accounting research. It then explores the possible stimuli that inter-disciplinary accounting scholars may derive from recent public administration studies, public policy and societal trends, highlighting possible ways to extend public sector accounting research and strengthen dialogue with other disciplines. Findings NPM may have represented a golden age, but also a “golden cage,” for the development of public sector accounting research. The paper reflects possible ways out of this golden cage, discussing future avenues for public sector accounting research. In doing so, it highlights the opportunities offered by re-considering the “public” side of accounting research and shifting the attention from the public sector, seen as a context for public sector accounting research, to publicness, as a concept central to such research. Originality/value The paper calls for stronger engagement with contemporary developments in public administration and policy. This could be achieved by looking at how public sector accounting accounts for, but also impacts on, issues of wider societal relevance, such as co-production and hybridization of public services, austerity, crises and wicked problems, the creation and maintenance of public value and democratic participation.

scholarly journals New public management and the rise of public sector performance audit

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 280-306 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lee D. Parker ◽  
Kerry Jacobs ◽  
Jana Schmitz
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Public Management ◽  
New Public Management ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Key Stakeholders ◽  
New Public ◽  
Performance Audit ◽  
Performance Auditing ◽  
Strong Control

Purpose In the context of global new public management reform trends and the associated phenomenon of performance auditing (PA), the purpose of this paper is to explore the rise of performance audit in Australia and examines its focus across audit jurisdictions and the role key stakeholders play in driving its practice. Design/methodology/approach The study adopts a multi-jurisdictional analysis of PA in Australia to explore its scale and focus, drawing on the theoretical tools of Goffman. Documentary analysis and interview methods are employed. Findings Performance audit growth has continued but not always consistently over time and across audit jurisdictions. Despite auditor discourse concerning backstage performance audit intentions being strongly focussed on evaluating programme outcomes, published front stage reports retain a strong control focus. While this appears to reflect Auditors-General (AGs) reluctance to critique government policy, nonetheless there are signs of direct and indirectly recursive relationships emerging between AGs and parliamentarians, the media and the public. Research limitations/implications PA merits renewed researcher attention as it is now an established process but with ongoing variability in focus and stakeholder influence. Social implications As an audit technology now well-embedded in the public sector accountability setting, it offers potential insights into matters of local, state and national importance for parliament and the public, but exhibits variable underlying drivers, agendas and styles of presentation that have the capacity to enhance or detract from the public interest. Originality/value Performance audit emerges as a complex practice deployed as a mask by auditors in managing their relationship with key stakeholders.

scholarly journals The compassionate organisation

2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 72-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Poul Erik Flyvholm Jørgensen ◽  
Maria Isaksson
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Web Sites ◽  
Public Management ◽  
New Public Management ◽  
Critical Time ◽  
Complex Nature ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Uk

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to test whether organisations in the public domain have embraced a corporate type of discourse, mirroring the private sector’s preferred orientation towards expertise, or whether they maintain their traditional discourse of goodwill towards the publics they serve. At a critical time for the public sector with inadequate funding and dominance of New Public Management approaches, will it be more motivated to portray itself as expert and efficient rather than altruistic? Design/methodology/approach – The paper applies a rhetorical framework to provide a detailed analysis of organisational value statements posted on the web sites of public and private organisations. The research considers the value priorities of 50 organisations in the UK and Scandinavia in order to gauge the extent of convergence between the two sectors’ preferred discourses. Findings – The research shows that the public sector sticks to its guns in maintaining a web-transmitted values discourse which forefronts goodwill towards its clients. It also shows that the public and private sectors take different approaches to goodwill. Originality/value – Strategists and communication specialists are encouraged to contemplate the extent to which their organisation’s projected web image equates their desired image to avoid alienating important public audiences and reinforce levels of trust. The current framework brings attention to the complex nature of goodwill and may be employed to better balance a discourse of organisational expertise against a discourse of goodwill in planning authentic value statements.

scholarly journals Do NPM Strategies Lead to Negative Organizational Behavior? Lessons from the Differential Effects of Contracting Out on Voluntary Turnover

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 369-389
Author(s):  
Gyeo Reh Lee
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Organizational Behavior ◽  
Public Management ◽  
New Public Management ◽  
Indirect Costs ◽  
Voluntary Turnover ◽  
Contracting Out ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Workforce ◽  
The Relationship

While public sector organizations have increasingly utilized New Public Management (NPM) strategies as a means of increasing the values of the market, a growing body of literature suggests that market-based reforms may generate indirect costs associated with negative organizational behaviors in the public sector. Focusing on probable consequences of government contracting out for the public workforce, this study examines the relationship between contracting out and voluntary turnover relying on a panel data of U.S. federal agencies from 2010 to 2017. The results present that contracting activity is associated with voluntary quits in the opposite direction depending on the level of job satisfaction. This finding disentangles the previous discussion on the relationship between NPM strategies and employee behavior.

Guest Editorial: Accounting for public governance

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 86-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giuseppe Grossi ◽  
Ileana Steccolini
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Public Management ◽  
Power Relationships ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Public Governance ◽  
Empirical Examination ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Private And Public

Purpose – The purpose of this viewpoint paper is to introduce the special issue and outline its major themes. Design/methodology/approach – The public governance literature is described, and the necessity for analysing challenges for accountability and accounting in the public sector is elaborated upon, as a precursor to introducing the contributions to this special issue. Findings – The public governance turn in public management and policy studies has often meant that accounting and accountability issues have been overlooked. This special issue reminds us that they are central in public governance and networks, and that accounting cannot be dismissed as only a “technical” issue since it is central in power relationships, building trust, ensuring transparency and improving decision making for both internal and external stakeholders. Research limitations/implications – This special issue of Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management aims to stimulate qualitative research on how accounting and accountability are being shaped by the new public governance paradigm and, in turn, contribute to shaping it. Practical implications – The articles included in this special issue focus on reforms and innovations that have been adopted based on the assumption that improving mechanisms of public governance and accountability will result in better public sector performance. The different aspects of governance and accounting changes will also be of interest to politicians, managers, citizens, and those who seek accountability from public sector organisations. Originality/value – The paper offers a systematic empirical examination of the innovative experiences of different governments to strengthen transparency, openness and participation, and to enhance the capacity to manage, steer and monitor contracts, partnerships and relationships with private and public sector entities.

scholarly journals Auditor gender, experience and reporting in nonprofit organizations

2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. 550-577 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne-Mie Reheul ◽  
Tom Van Caneghem ◽  
Machteld Van den Bogaerd ◽  
Sandra Verbruggen
Keyword(s):  
Nonprofit Organizations ◽  
Audit Quality ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Non Profit ◽  
The Public ◽  
Audit Market ◽  
Audit Firms ◽  
Audit Opinions ◽  
Auditor Characteristics

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the association between individual auditor characteristics (gender, experience and sector expertise) and audit opinions in Belgian non-profit organizations (NPOs). The purpose is to identify auditor characteristics that imply a better assurance of financial statement (FS) quality. FS quality is essential to enhance financial accountability toward the resource providers of NPOs and the public at large. Design/methodology/approach Multinomial regressions are conducted on a data set of Belgian NPOs. Propensity score matching is used to control for potential self-selection bias. Findings Auditors with sector expertise are found to provide better assurance than their non-sector-expert counterparts. The former are more likely to disclose FS errors and uncertainties in their audit report. Originality/value This study contributes to the auditing literature by focusing on an understudied audit market, namely, the non-profit audit market. The number of non-profit studies that investigate determinant of audit quality is very scarce, and none of them explores the determinants of audit opinions. Moreover, these studies ignore individual auditor characteristics as determinants of audit quality. The findings of this study provide meaningful information for several actors in the NP field and for audit firms.

scholarly journals Exploring past, present and future trends in public sector auditing research: a literature review

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Giorgia Mattei ◽  
Giuseppe Grossi ◽  
James Guthrie A.M.
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Public Management ◽  
New Public Management ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Sector Reforms ◽  
New Public

Purpose Public sector auditing research has changed rapidly over the past four decades. This paper aims to reveal how the field has developed and identify avenues for future research. Design/methodology/approach The authors used a structured literature review following Massaro et al. The sample comprises papers on public sector auditing published in accounting and public sector management journals between 1991 and 2020. Findings The present analysis highlights that academic research interest in public sector auditing has grown and become more diverse. The authors argue this may reflect a transformation of the public sector in recent decades, owing to the developing institutional logics of public sector reforms, from traditional public administration to new public management and now new public governance. Originality value This paper offers a comprehensive review of the public sector auditing literature, discussing different perspectives over time. It also outlines the various public sector reforms introduced over the period of the study. In reviewing the existing literature, the authors highlight the themes for future research and policy settings.

Blockchain informative infrastructure: a conceptual reflection on public administrative procedures and a citizen-centred view

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Rainero ◽  
Giuseppe Modarelli
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Public Administration ◽  
Public Management ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Future Perspectives ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Administrative Procedures ◽  
Synthesis Methodology

PurposeThis work highlights the potential of blockchain from a public management (PM) angle. Given the limited presence of blockchain's broad-spectrum, empirical-applicative evidence in the public sector, as well as theoretical systematisations that can exemplify its potential within this scope, the authors have concentrated their efforts on structuring a referring model.Design/methodology/approachAfter identifying a gap and conducting a preliminary literature review related to public administration (PA), the authors propose a paradigm focused on a conceptual synthesis methodology, starting from a longitudinal analysis and a coding activity that are able to structure a clear framework of theoretical parallelism regarding blockchain's main functionalities, as well as future perspectives in the public sector.FindingsThe main results yielded a specific longitudinal literature review and constitute a referring model of blockchain's systematised functionalities through a conceptualised matrix. The outcome of the conceptualisation process frames and systematises a rapidly growing controversial phenomenon, furnishing a specific referring paradigm for the issue as it relates to policymakers.Originality/valueThe study's originality resides in the two views the authors created, both from the literature review and from the conceptual synthesis for public sector operative practice via an anthropocentric lens, conveyed by a three-year range of analysis.

Audit Procurement: Managing Audit Quality and Audit Fees in Response to Agency Costs

2005 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 27-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevan L. Jensen ◽  
Jeff L. Payne
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Moral Hazard ◽  
Agency Costs ◽  
Audit Quality ◽  
Audit Fees ◽  
Combined Effect ◽  
External Auditors ◽  
The Public ◽  
Industry Experience

This study examines (1) the association between agency costs and audit-procurement practices, and (2) the association between audit-procurement practices, audit quality, and audit fees. Improved audit procurement has been promoted as a mechanism for improving audit quality, particularly in the public sector where auditor moral hazard problems have historically existed. Using a sample of municipal organizations, we find evidence that cities facing higher levels of agency costs, and cities that rely more on their external auditors to relieve such costs, tend to have better-developed audit-procurement practices. We also find evidence that well-developed audit-procurement practices (and individual audit-procurement elements), are associated with the hiring of auditors who have higher levels of industry experience—suggestive of higher audit quality. Finally, we find evidence suggesting that well-developed audit-procurement practices have a minimal combined effect on audit fees; however, individual audit-procurement elements are associated with audit fees.

Does Part II of the PCAOB inspection report provide new information to the market?

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (8/9) ◽  
pp. 715-735 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Buslepp ◽  
R. Jared DeLisle ◽  
Lisa Victoravich
Keyword(s):  
Quality Control ◽  
Market Share ◽  
Audit Quality ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Audit Market ◽  
New Information ◽  
Public Company ◽  
Public Signal ◽  
New Evidence

Purpose Part II of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) inspection report is released only when firms fail to remediate quality control criticisms and is intended to be a public signal of audit quality. The purpose of this paper is to reexamine whether audit clients react to the release of Part II of the PCAOB inspection report as a signal of audit quality. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a difference-in-difference regression model to examine the association between the release of Part II of the PCAOB inspection report and an audit firm’s change in market share. A sensitivity analysis is also performed to determine whether the main findings are robust to the timing of the release of the report and type of quality control criticism included in Part II of the inspection report. Findings After controlling for the prior year’s changes in market share, the authors find no evidence that clients react to the public release of Part II of the report. In the second part of the study, they examine when clients become aware of the contents of the Part II report prior to its release. Firms with audit performance criticisms experience a decrease in market share following the release of Part I. Firms with firm management criticisms experience a significant decrease in market share following the remediation period and before the public release of Part II. Practical implications The results suggest that Part II of the PCAOB inspection report does not provide new information to the market. Clients appear to be aware of the information contained in Part II of the PCAOB inspection report prior to its release. The authors believe that the delay in releasing the Part II report may create an information imbalance, and the PCAOB may want to consider ways to improve the timeliness of the information. Originality/value This study questions the generalizability of prior research which finds that Part II of the inspection report provides new information that is valued by the public company audit market as a signal of audit quality. The findings provide new evidence that the contents of Part II and the firm’s ability to remediate the quality control concerns are known to audit clients prior to the public release.

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