INTERNAL AUDIT QUALITY AND PUBLIC SECTOR MANAGEMENT IN NIGERIA

The broad objective of the study is to empirically examine the impact of internal audit quality on public sector management in Nigeria. Specifically, the study examined the relationship that existed between some variables of internal audit such as financial controls, management controls, public sector efficiency and public sector management. In the study, primary data was utilized through the administration of 150 copies of questionnaire to respondents in internal audit, ministries, departments, agencies, parastatals and commission in Ondo state, but 144 copies were received. Simple percentage, descriptive statistics and categorical (general) least square were used as data analysis techniques. The findings of the study revealed that; internal audit quality such as internal audit competence (COMP), internal objectivity (OBJEC), internal audit challenges (CHAL), and internal audit performance (PERF) had a positive and statistically significant relationship with financial controls in the selected public entities in Nigeria. Internal audit quality such as internal audit competence (COMP), internal audit objectively (OBJEC), internal audit challenges (CHAL), internal audit performance (PERF) had a positive and a statistically significantly relationship with the effective management controls in the selected public entities in Nigeria. Internal audit quality such as internal audit competence (COMP), internal audit objectively (OBJEC), internal audit challenges, internal audit performance (PERF) had a positive and statistically significant relationship with public sector service delivery in the selected public sector entities in Nigeria. The study recommends that both the internal auditors and the public sector management team should participate actively in the management of public sector entities thus lead to enhance managerial performance. <p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0787/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

Public management – the essence and selected concepts

The paper is an attempt to characterise the most significant concepts of public management. The starting point for the considerations is definition of the term “public management”. Next, the author presents directions of the evolution of changes that have been taking place in public sector management. The last part of the paper outlines the assumptions of two modern concepts of public management, i.e., New Public Management and Public Governance.

Tackling undeclared work in Central and East Europe: an evaluation of competing public sector management approaches

To tackle undeclared work in Central and East Europe, the conventional bureaucratic public sector management approach has used the hard-direct controls of penalties and increasing the risk of detection. Recently, an alternative post-bureaucratic public sector management approach has emerged advocating soft indirect controls to improve tax morale and horizontal trust. Evaluating these competing approaches using evidence from Eurobarometer surveys conducted in 2007, 2013 and 2019 in six Central and East European countries, the finding is that both approaches significantly prevent undeclared work. The outcome is a call for a new ‘hybrid’ public sector management approach combining the two.

GEARING PUBLIC SECTOR MANAGEMENT EDUCATION CURRICULUM IN THE PHILIPPINES IN RESPONSE TO 21ST CENTURY NEEDS

The UNESCO World Conference on Higher Education, held in Paris, France in October 1998, adopted a universal declaration on the need for a new vision and paradigm in higher education responsive to the challenges of the 21st century. This study is an effort to answer this call but only in the limited field of public sector management education curriculum at the Master’s level. This study attempted an evaluation of existing curricula in terms of the responsive objectives in knowledge, skills, and values as well as the perceived gap between theory and practice. Further, it sought to identify any differences among school administrators, faculty, and students including practitioners in their perceptions regarding these objectives. The study used a three-staged survey to surface data as basics for the proposed curriculum. The first stage was a request for printed materials of the Master in Public Administration/counterpart courses from 66 educational institutions. The second stage was a questionnaire to which 69/132 (52%) school administrators, 112/198 (56.5%) faculty, 188/330 (56.9%) students, and 76/76 (100%) are practitioners, representing an overall 60.4 percent retrieval rate. The questionnaires sought answers to the specific sub-problems of the study. The third questionnaire was sent to all respondents who replied to the second questionnaire; their opinion on the proposed objectives and courses/subjects were sought. Based on the findings, the researchers developed the proposed curriculum. This curriculum in conformity with the Commission on Higher Education standards consists of the following: 1. Core/Professional Orientation (12 units), Theory and Practice of Governance (3 units), Human Behavior in Organization (3 units), Leadership and Organization Change (3 units), Administrative Laws (3 units); 2. Research and Evaluation (6 units), Quantitative Methods of Management and Statistics (3 units), Research Techniques (3 units); 3. Major Subjects (15 units) on any of the following: Economic Development (3 units), Development Administration (3 units), Communication and Information Management (3 units), Public Management Issues (3 units), Ethics and Accountability in the Public Service (3 units), Environmental Management (3 units); 4. Thesis Writing (6 units). This study will be useful to schools or will offer a public sector management education course at the Master’s level as well as to the Commission on Higher Education for standard setting.