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

Abstract

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.

State Finance Audit for People’s Welfare (Dialogue of Rhetoric and Reality)

“…Wilkins (1995) argues that the scope of a financial audit can be measured by the number of institutions being audited (auditees) and the proportion of qualified (unqualified) opinions. Meanwhile, the scope of audit performance can be evaluated from the number and value of recommendations for improvement in the public sector (Dwiputrianti, 2011 andMattei et al, 2021).…”

Actorhood of the European Court of Auditors: a visual analysis

“…Of the different levels of government in the public sector auditing literature, the national level is the most investigated, with a focus on national public sector audit institutions (also called Supreme Audit Institutions, SAIs), followed by the local level (Nerantzidis et al, 2020;Mattei et al, 2021). The findings show a variety of practices in national and local public sector auditing (Bonollo, 2019;Mattei et al, 2021), relating to the scope of the audit, the degree of inspection and the independence of the public auditors (Johnsen, 2019;Ferry and Ahrens, 2021;Ferry and Midgley, 2021;Cordery and Hay, 2021b). Considering the growing relevance of public sector audit institutions as guardians of the public interest (Hay and Cordery, 2018), the little-understood communication practices they enact to gain legitimacy deserve further attention.…”

Public auditing practice in Iran: objectives and scopes

“…One of the main gaps highlighted by Mattei et al. in existing literature is public sector auditing in emerging economies which they recommend to be investigated in future studies (Mattei et al. , 2021).…”

“…Recent reviews on public audit literature highlight that there has been an increase in public audit research in recent years (Hay and Cordery, 2020;Mattei et al, 2021). This increase in number of studies occurred after 2000 and has accelerated since 2016 (Hay and Cordery, 2020) and the reason behind this increase is attributable to the transformation of the public sector in recent years (Mattei et al, 2021). Despite the increase in number of studies about public auditing, there is still need for more investigation.…”

“…Despite the increase in number of studies about public auditing, there is still need for more investigation. Mattei et al (2021) explain that the trends and themes in the public auditing literature are due to developments in the public sector as well as the gaps in the existing literature. One of the main gaps highlighted by Mattei et al in existing literature is public sector auditing in emerging economies which they recommend to be investigated in future studies (Mattei et al, 2021).…”