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|b Performance auditing (PA) which is also known as comprehensive auditing, management auditing, efficiency auditing and value for money auditing, has had a diverse history across countries and professional disciplines. However, PA in developing countries has received little attention in the literature. Moreover, most written literature related to PA focused on aspects of PA , such as its nature, processes and procedures. The aim of this paper is to explore the nature and effectiveness of the current system of PA in the Libyan public sector. A mixed method design utilized in this paper incorporating both qualitative and quantitative data collection. 310 close-ended questionnaires were distributed for data collection. 110 were distributed to performance auditors and 200 distributed to public sector managers. Furthermore, sixteen semi-structured intei-views were conducted with performance auditors and public sector managers (eight with each group) regarding their attitudes and perceptions about the nature and effectiveness of the current system of PA. In addition, the results reveal that PA in Libya is still in its infancy due to the fact that Libya, as a developing country, lacks the information, internal control systems, performance measures and sufficient audit staff Furthermore, the ambiguity of goals and objectives in public sector organisations, and the lack of performance indicators, the lack of sound financial reporting system, and the lack of a sound internal control system in the public sector are the main obstacles that face performance auditors while conducting PA.
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