Organisational performance management as a mechanism to improve service delivery in the South African public sector: the contribution of internal auditing as an enabler

The advent of democracy in 1994 prompted the South African government to provide public goods to the entire population as opposed to providing services along racial lines, as was the case during the apartheid era. Consequently, government expenditure increased considerably. However, continuous service delivery protests in recent years indicate that government has not been operating optimally. The Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation and National Treasury introduced Organisational Performance Management (OPM) to improve service delivery. Government also adopted internal auditing as a mechanism to improve OPM because of internal auditing’s mandate, role and body of knowledge. This study explored the implementation of OPM as a management tool to assist national departments in effectively delivering goods and services to the public economically and efficiently. The study also explored the adoption of internal auditing by national departments as a mechanism to improve OPM. The study followed a sequential mixed methods approach. The chief audit executives of eighteen national departments participated in the quantitative phase. Interviews were held with employees from four national departments as well as two monitoring departments. Departmental officials included five deputy directors-general, three chief directors, four directors, one deputy director and one senior internal auditor. Seven focus group discussions were held with twenty-two internal auditors from the four departments. Sixty-four documents were analysed. The study found that national departments have implemented systems of OPM and the reporting of quarterly performance information but are at different levels of maturity. However, governance and reporting fatigue and a reluctance to implement effective consequence management for poor performance may be undermining optimal performance. National departments may be also preparing strategic plans, annual performance plans and annual reports simply for compliance rather than for optimal performance. The study also found that internal auditors may not have a thorough understanding of the department’s performance environment and consequently undertake limited assessments of OPM, focusing mainly on quarterly performance information (PI) and documentation rather than on organisational strategy. However, management’s expectations from internal auditing go beyond assessing the quarterly PI and require advice and guidance on strategic imperatives. The appropriate skills, knowledge and training of internal auditors therefore require review. Management expects assurance of sustainable future performance of the department. Internal auditing currently stands positioned to make an evolutionary transformation into becoming the most important strategic partner to management. However, under-theorisation and a restricted internal auditing approach inhibit its natural evolution.College of Accounting SciencesD. Phil. (Accounting Sciences

Alat pemungut tandan kelapa sawit darjah kebebasan

Kelapa sawit merupakan tanaman yang menyumbang kepada industri penghasilan minyak di dunia seperti minyak masak, minyak industri, dan minyak bahan bakar (biodiesal). Pulangan dari sektor pertanian khususnya kelapa sawit sangat menguntungkan. Kini ramai petani telah bertukar ke tanaman kelapa sawit. Indonesia merupakan pengeluar minyak kelapa sawit terbesar di dunia [1]. Dengan terdapatnya pembukaan ladang sawit secara besar-besaran maka banyaklah syarikat-syarikat pertanian mula mencipta alat atau mesin yang baik untuk mencepatkan proses memetik dan mengeluarkan sawit dari ladang. Namun alatan yang lebih mesra pengguna dilihat tidak dipandang serius. Atas isu ini timbul idea mencipta alat pemungut tandan kelapa sawit darjah kebebasan. Semua sedia maklum untuk mengeluarkan sawit dari ladang perlunya meletakan tandan sawit ke dalam kereta sorong terlebih dahulu.Untuk meletakan sawit ke dalam kereta sorong T-shape palm fruit shank diperlukan. Pekebun akan mengangkat sawit yang telah dipetik dari pokok menggunakan alatan tersebut.Tanpa disedari alatan ini membahayakan pekebun dan membebankan. Pekebun memerlukan tenaga yang banyak untuk mengangkat tandan sawit yang amat berat ke dalam kereta sorong. Selain itu, mengangkat bebanan yang berat dalam kuantiti yang banyak menyebabkan sakit dibahagian tulang belakang pekebun. Di samping itu, mata alat yang tajam dan terdedah meningkatkan risiko kecederaan pekebun. Duri pada buah sawit juga bahaya pada pekebun

Auditor Independence-Its Importance to the External Auditor's Role in Banking Regulation and Supervision

The role of the external auditor in the supervisory process requires standards such as independence,objectivity and integrity to be achieved. Even though the regulator and external auditor perform similar functions, namely the verification of financial statements, they serve particular interests. The regulator works towards safeguarding financial stability and investor interests. On the other hand, the external auditor serves the private interests of the shareholders of a company. The financial audit remains an important aspect of corporate governance that makes management accountable to shareholders for its stewardship of a company2. The external auditor may however, have a commercial interest too. The debate surrounding the role of external auditors focusses in particular on auditor independence. A survey by the magazine “Financial Director” shows that the fees derived from audit clients in terms of non-audit services are significant in comparison with fees generated through auditing.3 Accounting firms sometimes engage in a practice called “low balling” whereby they set audit fees at less than the market rate and make up for the deficit by providing non audit services. As a result, some audit firms have commercial interests to protect too. There is concern that the auditor's interests to protect shareholders of a company and his commercial interests do not conflict with each other. Sufficient measures need to be in place to ensure that the external auditor's independence is not affected. Brussels proposed a new directive for auditors to try to prevent further scandals such as those of Enron and Parmalat.4 The new directive states that all firms listed on the stock market must have independent audit committees which will recommend an auditor for shareholder approval.5 It also states that auditors or audit partners must be rotated but does not mention the separation of auditors from consultancy work despite protests that there is a link to compromising the independence of auditors.6 However this may be because Brussels also shares the view that there is no evidence confirming correlation between levels of non-audit fees and audit failures and that as a result, sufficient safeguards are in place.7 This paper aims to consider the importance of auditor independence in the external auditor's role in banking regulation and supervision. In doing so, it also considers factors which may threaten independence and efforts which have been introduced to act as safeguards to the auditor's independence. It will also support the claim that auditor independence is indeed central to the auditor's role in banking regulation and supervision

One way forward: non-traditional accounting disclosures in the 21st century

Recent empirical studies (Deegan and Rankin, 1999; Deegan et al., 2000) have indicated that although many corporations have begun to respond to perceived demand for environmental disclosures in published accounts, their perspective of organisational legitimacy is a narrow view, in which information is targeted towards specific stakeholders and not to the general public. This paper considers a range of models (variously called guidelines, standards and charters) which have been put forward by different organisations to aid the development of social and environmental disclosures. In all cases verification and attestation are part of the proposed regimen. The question which the papers attempts to answer is whether any one of the models would be capable of rapid adoption as part of an expanded GAAP, should the professional accounting bodies think that this is desirable. The outcome of our deliberations is cautious support for the use of EMAS and ISO 14000 as the basis for a modified GAAP plus the further development of the GRI 2000 guidelines into a set of standards covering both social and environmental reporting

Audit report on the Hiawatha Water Department, Hiawatha, Iowa for the year ended June 30, 2013

Audit report on the Hiawatha Water Department, Hiawatha, Iowa for the year ended June 30, 201

Accounting and accountability in Fiji: A review and synthesis

This paper reviews accounting and accountability research in Fiji. The review is based on 41 papers which were published in accounting refereed journals, professional journals, edited book chapters and thesis and other refereed journals outside accounting. The reviews are over the years 1978 and onwards. In addition to categorization of the reviewed papers according to accounting topics, theories and methods of data collection, some themes to which the papers could be related are discussed. Financial reporting/ accountability research is the most popular research in Fiji followed by the new public management. Corporate governance research treads third. The paper findings suggest some directions for future accounting history research in Fiji and where the data can possibly be sourced for such research. We conclude that more future work is needed in the areas of accounting history which entails topics such as accounting and the state, performance auditing, indigenous accounting, financial reporting, SMEs and accountability in general

The development of social and environmental accounting research 1995-2000

This paper reviews five years of social and environmental accounting literature (from 1995-2000) in an attempt to evaluate the current position. The methodology used follows that employed in Mathews (1997a) which covered a period of 25 years in three time periods: 1971-1980; 1981-1990; and 1991- 1995. The literature was classified into several sub-groups including empirical studies, normative statements, philosophical discussion, non-accounting literature, teaching programmes and text books, regulatory frameworks, and other reviews. In this review a number of new sub-categories have been employed as appropriate. The author is able to conclude on an optimistic note. The additions to the literature during the period 1995-2000 are encouraging. Researchers in this area are perhaps less naïve and more experienced than previously, and this, when added to their enthusiasm should lead to penetrating observations and commentaries over the next five years

Audit Independence : Its Importance to the External Auditor's Role in Banking Regulation and Supervision

The role of the external auditor in the supervisory process requires standards such as independence,objectivity and integrity to be achieved. Even though the regulator and external auditor perform similar functions, namely the verification of financial statements, they serve particular interests. The regulator works towards safeguarding financial stability and investor interests. On the other hand, the external auditor serves the private interests of the shareholders of a company. The financial audit remains an important aspect of corporate governance that makes management accountable to shareholders for its stewardship of a company. The external auditor may however, have a commercial interest too. The debate surrounding the role of external auditors focusses in particular on auditor independence. A survey by the magazine “Financial Director” shows that the fees derived from audit clients in terms of non-audit services are significant in comparison with fees generated through auditing. Accounting firms sometimes engage in a practice called “low balling” whereby they set audit fees at less than the market rate and make up for the deficit by providing non audit services. As a result, some audit firms have commercial interests to protect too. There is concern that the auditor's interests to protect shareholders of a company and his commercial interests do not conflict with each other. Sufficient measures need to be in place to ensure that the external auditor's independence is not affected. Brussels proposed a new directive for auditors to try to prevent further scandals such as those of Enron and Parmalat. The new directive states that all firms listed on the stock market must have independent audit committees which will recommend an auditor for shareholder approval. It also states that auditors or audit partners must be rotated but does not mention the separation of auditors from consultancy work despite protests that there is a link to compromising the independence of auditors. However this may be because Brussels also shares the view that there is no evidence confirming correlation between levels of non-audit fees and audit failures and that as a result, sufficient safeguards are in place.audit; independence; banking; supervision