INTERNAL AUDIT AND RISK MANAGEMENT IN PUBLIC SECTOR ENTITIES, BETWEEN TRADITION AND ACTUALITY

The deep transformations which have marked the public sector, generated by theEuropean Union extension, the decentralization process, the increase of complex activities, theascendant trend of current agreements and the descendant trend of future resources requireredefining the role of internal audit and risk management in the public sector entities. By the undertaken study we define the risk concept, identify the typology and indubitablydivide the involvement of public internal audit and risk management into the equation of riskswithin the public sector entities. The research takes into account a synthesis of the ideas publishedon the topic, the regulations issued by the national and international accounting regulators, and bybodies of the accounting profession.public internal audit, risk, risk management, activity consistency, performance

The Financial Auditor’s Risk Behavior – The Influence of Age on Risk Behavior in a Financial Audit Context

A main issue in the audit process is the risk faced by the decision makers in every aspect of an audit process decision. The decision makers’ risk behaviour and their attitude towards risk is considered to be central to the way business risk, in general, and audit risk, in particular, is managed but no conclusive theory as to what influences the decision makers’ risk behaviour is commonly accepted. Although previous studies have brought arguments in favour of different factors considered to have an influence on the decision makers’ risk behaviour, what is not known is whether age has an influence on risk behaviour. This article advances the hypothesis that the auditor’s attitude towards risk is correlated with the auditor’s age, in a financial audit context. The methodological approach used was the survey of a representative sample using a carefully designed questionnaire and the use of statistical software to analyse the responses. The analysis of data collected revealed that there is a strong correlation between the financial auditor’s risk behaviour and the financial auditor’s age, confirming the research hypothesis as well as setting a starting point for future research.risk, age, financial audit, risk behaviour, correlation

Valences considering the identification of risks in terms of public internal audit

Risks get new valences into the public sector within an economy characterized by resource limitation, increase of public exigency regarding services and diversification of the activities in the public sector entities. By carrying out this fundamental research we consider the problem of classification of risks from point of view of public internal audit. This study is based on a synthesis of the ideas published by national and international accounting regulators, accounting bodies and works put forward on the matter. We define the concept of risk, identify the types of risks in terms of public internal audit at European and national level, we determine the correlation between the audit risk optimization and the expedience of public financing use and propose a model to evaluate risks.audit risk, public internal audit, risk.

INTERFERENCES AND LIMITS OF THE ACCOUNTING POLICIES SPECIFIC TO FIXED TANGIBLE ASSETS INTO THE PUBLIC SECTOR ENTITIES IN ROMANIA

The convergence and compliance process initiated at international level hasinfluenced also the accounting system of the public sector entities from Romania. Taking intoaccount the fact that the fixed tangible assets represent an important part of the total assets ofthe public sector entities, and therefore, they are indicative in presenting the financialposition, by this essential research we structure the issue of the fixed tangible assets in termsof the accounting policies applicable into the public sector from Romania. By dual analysis,that is national regulations versus International Public Sector Accounting Standards, weidentify the interferences and limits of the accounting policies specific to the fixed tangibleassets from the public sector in Romania and we propose alternatives to answer the realneeds of the national public sector entities. This research is based upon a synthesis of theideas on this theme published into the professional literature, the regulations issued by thenational and international accounting regulators, by organisms belonging to the accountingprofession.public sector entity, fixed tangible assets, accounting policies, International Public SectorAccounting Standards(IPSAS)

ACCRUAL ACCOUNTING, FOUNDATION FOR THE FINANCIAL REPORTING INTO THE PUBLIC SECTOR ENTITIES

The development of the accounting system of the public sector entities atmondial level has focused on taking up the accrual accounting as foundation for the financialreporting and totally or partially giving up the cash accounting. Within this context, by thisresearch, we define the coordinates of the accrual accounting, we analyse the adoption of itas a financial reporting basis into the public sector at international level and also theimplications of completing the cash accounting with the accrual accounting into theRomanian public sector. The research takes into consideration a synthesis of the ideaspublished upon this topic into the professional literature, the regulations issued by thenational and international accounting regulators, by accounting bodies.public sector entity, accrual accounting, financial reporting, International Public SectorAccounting Standards (IPSAS)

FINANCIAL AUDIT IN AN ARENA CONTEXT. AN ANALYSIS AT THE MESO-LEVEL

Research has generally focused either on the auditors’ decision-making process atmicro-level or on the financial audit environment at macro-level. The present paper’s contributionto knowledge consists in filling in this research gap by performing an analysis of the financial auditenvironment at meso-level and by pointing out the significance of strategic thinking in managingfinancial audit companies. The research method consists in applying to the financial audit field theso-called arena concept , a metaphor that describes in a symbolic manner the location of actionswhich influence collective decisions or policies. The main strength of the applied model is that itstructures and represents participants, communication, patterns of interaction, and decision-making processes. The authors conclude that there is a variety of interactions in the financial auditfield and that each group of participants may change the business dynamics.financial audit, arena, interactions, strategic thinking

Happy e-Inclusion? The Case of Romania

This paper investigates the determinants of adoption of ICT technology by households in Romania, using a probit model based on a time-series cross-section dataset. A particular attention is given to a few psycho-social factors in addition to the recognised role of usual socio-economic determinants, such as income, age, employment status, educational level or gender. The particular findings are that, together with an expected impact of the occupational status and of the educational level, the perceived wellbeing of individuals is one of the most important factors influencing the decision to acquire and use a PC at home. Gender does not seem to have the same importance as in other regions of the world and shows an opposite sign than elsewhere, whereas income influences the decision, but with a weaker effect.information and communications technology; e-inclusion; Probit model; Romania; determinants of PC use

PARTICIPATORY GOVERNANCE IN THE PUBLIC HEALTHCARE SYSTEMS OF THE SCANDINAVIAN AND BALTIC COUNTRIES

The diminished trust of citizens in the public sector, the increased complexity of policy issues and the reforms in accordance with the new public management principles generate the need of focusing more extensively on participatory governance. Participatory governance can be defined as the genuine engagement of citizens and other organizations in the formulation of policies and strategies, in the decision-making process from the public sector and in the implementation of the decisions. The present paper's objectives are to define the concept of participatory governance, to argue in favor of implementing it in the public sector and to find to what extent public healthcare institutions from Scandinavian and Baltic countries publish information on participatory governance and how they perceive community engagement. The research findings are that the information on participatory governance disclosed on the websites of relevant institutions from within the Scandinavian and Baltic public healthcare systems is scarce. The countries with the greatest concern for community engagement are Denmark and Sweden. It is argued that there should be a shift in focus within the public sector in general and within the healthcare system in particular, so that citizens are genuinely involved in the relevant processes and their satisfaction is indeed at an adequate level.participatory governance, engagement, public healthcare, Scandinavian, Baltic