Local Government Auditing in Austria
Auditing Practices in Local Governments: An International Comparison
ISBN: 978-1-80117-086-4, eISBN: 978-1-80117-085-7
Publication date: 15 June 2022
Abstract
The local government auditing (LGA) landscape in Austria can be characterised as fragmented terrain, due to different regulations in the nine regions and a plethora of involved actors. The contours of the landscape have changed significantly during the past decades, with three major interrelated developments taking place: (1) administrative decentralisation led to an increase in the number of auditee organisations; (2) with the establishment of regional audit institutions (RAIs), new auditor organisations appeared as actors; and (3) auditing practices evolved, for example, with respect to an expansion of performance audits and the use of technology. In this chapter, the authors put a focus on RAIs that play a major role in LGA. The authors portray the historical roots of the LGA landscape and give a descriptive overview of the current structures and practices.
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Acknowledgements
Acknowledgements
We are very grateful to Dr Brigitte Eggler-Bargehr, Director of the Court of Audit of Vorarlberg, and Ing. Dr Friedrich Pammer, Director of the Court of Audit of Upper Austria, and President of the European Organization of Regional Audit Institutions, for their agreement to serve as interview partners and to provide additional information. We appreciate the comments by Dr Stephan Leixnering on an earlier version of our chapter.
Citation
Polzer, T., Vith, S. and Bauer, G. (2022), "Local Government Auditing in Austria", Ferry, L. and Ruggiero, P. (Ed.) Auditing Practices in Local Governments: An International Comparison (Emerald Studies in Public Service Accounting and Accountability), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 27-38. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80117-085-720221003
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2022 Tobias Polzer, Sebastian Vith and Günter Bauer