The EU Legal Audit Framework - The Case of Kosovo

Abstract: This paper will analyze the legal framework and the development of the audit according to the acquis and the role of the general auditor in preserving public money in Kosovo. Like any other country in Europe that claims EU membership, Kosovo should continue the process of harmonizing its legislation with EU directives that require the so-called "hard" transposition of the acquis. One of the major segments of EU membership is the development of a system of internal financial control in the public sector. This paper will address the issue of Audit in the development phases, which has passed since 1800 to date, modern times. It is evident the role of the general auditor in ensuring the credibility of the financial system and in promoting the independence of the auditor, in the functional, financial and operative aspect, which always consists of a dynamic and never static process. The purpose of this paper is to review the regulations - EU directives through normative and comparative methods, in particular the provisions that foresee protection of the public interest and ensure the quality of the audit in the EU. Therefore, in this paper, the crucial audit role is concluded in the qualified examining of financial accountability in managing public finances in general

Internal and External Auditors Responsibilities and Relationships With Audit Committees in Two English Public Sector Settings

This paper assesses the job of scrutiny and oversight in public services by examining the role of the internal auditor (IA) and external auditor (EA) and their relationship with the audit committee (AC) in two distinct English public sector environments. The research uses an exploratory qualitative case study approach based on semi-structured interviews, AC meeting observations, and documentation reviews. The study acts as a starting point to examine the effectiveness of governance arrangements during a period of change in the UK public sector. The research provides evidence of good triangulation between the work of the IA, EA, and AC. Nevertheless, having close interaction between EAs and ACs and a crossing over in terms of responsibilities may lead to a conflict of interest and raises serious doubts about the independence and objectivity of the EA. This needs to be closely monitored over the coming years. Due to the diversity and wider and more complex accountability relationships and intricacies found in public sector organisations the study highlights the need to consider additional factors to the analysis of simple principal agency theory assumptions. The research further provides evidence on the existence of loosely coupled CG structures within the roles of the EA and IA within local government. This is one of the few papers which explores the IA and EA roles and their relationship with the AC in an organisational and institutional setting different from the private sector

The Single Audit Act: How Compliant Are Nonprofit Organizations?

Audits are an important legal accountability tool used by resource providers (donors, grantors, and others) to assure that resources are spent by nonprofit organizations in accordance with the resource providers intentions. This paper reports on audits that are required by the government of the United States for organizations receiving large amounts of federal financial assistance. Since 1990, nonprofits receiving substantial federal funds are required to undergo this rigorous and expensive form of federal oversight. We report on 11,841 nonprofit entities that underwent such audits, and the 3,592 audit firms that conducted them, from 1997 to 1999. Overall, compliance with federal regulations appears to be high. Our study indicates that smaller nonprofits, those that are new to government grants, and those with prior audit findings have a significantly higher rate of adverse audit findings. Perhaps for cost or other reasons, these nonprofits are being audited by less experienced auditors. Current federal funding does not provide any additional funds for Single Audit Act compliance. One policy implication of our work might be to provide federal funding specifically for Single Audit Act compliance to these nonprofits.This publication is Hauser Center Working Paper No. 16. The Hauser Center Working Paper Series was launched during the summer of 2000. The Series enables the Hauser Center to share with a broad audience important works-in-progress written by Hauser Center scholars and researchers