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Australian auditing standard AUP 33 ‐ Performance Auditing is the first auditing standard to deal exclusively with a non‐“financial statements” audit topic. Auditing the performance of management and commenting on how economically, efficiently and effectively they have performed their duties is not a new subject. However, up until now the results of performance audits have usually been kept within the organization concerned. With the growth of perceived dissatisfaction with current auditing in Australia and the demand for more management accountability due to corporate collapses, considers the possibility of performance audits becoming mandatory. Problems to be overcome in establishing a performance audit framework include audit independence, cost/benefit decisions and the establishment of adequate measurement criteria. However, if the demands for performance audits escalate these problems will have to be overcome. Indeed they are not now seen as insurmountable.

The purpose of this paper is to summarize the scope, methodology and main findings of a doctoral thesis about engagement factors that impact the performance audit of capital projects in California. This research was taken from an agency theory perspective.

The research study was conducted by gathering a large sample of publicly available statutorily‐required performance audits from complex capital programs, extracting factor data from the audit reports, and objectively and empirically comparing the effects of different factors on audit results. In addition, data from expenditure audits and risk‐based audits was gathered for comparison regarding audit scope. By focusing on facts, and using large samples of data to establish a view of the phenomena, in order to explain facts through testing of hypotheses, the research stance adopted was Positivist in nature. The overall research methodology employed was quantitative, and based on largely categorical data.

The results identified the importance of audit methodology and scope in the performance assessment of construction projects. This research included a contribution in two spheres: auditing and procurement. Whilst prior research on program audit and performance audit was limited, the findings from this research complemented and added new knowledge to existing theory developed earlier on financial audits, and contributed new knowledge to performance audit theory.

Public and private sector entity auditees need to understand the factors that impact performance audit results and effectiveness, so that they may appropriately define the performance audit scope, the solicitation for services, select the audit team, and provide support to the auditors during the engagement. This research is amongst the first to explicitly address and conceptualize the factors that affect capital program performance audit results and, thus, the potential for changes in procurement, resulting in program performance improvement.

Consistent with the requirements of online auditing performance assessments, the purpose of this paper is to propose an influence factors analysis method using analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and grey incidence analysis (GIA) to analyze the importance degree of influence factors on online auditing performance quantitatively.

A grey incidence model is developed to analyze the influence factors of online auditing performance based on the characteristics of online auditing. Then, the AHP is used to compute the weights of each assessment criterion of online auditing, and the performance of online auditing are computed. Finally, representing the performance assessment results computed by AHP and values of each assessment criterion as two sequences, GIA is used to analyze the importance degree of influence factors of online auditing performance quantitatively.

The main, secondary and minor influence factors of performance assessment of the online auditing project are identified. For online auditing projects, costs incurred are not the main influence factors of performance. Online auditing projects with higher benefits, higher quality and better design are the really effective ones. Besides, there is no direct relationship between the value of the weight of each criterion and the value of the degree of grey incidence.

The results of this study provide useful decision information to implement online auditing projects.

An effective method for analyzing the importance degree of influence factors of online auditing performance quantitatively is provided in this study.

It is believed that public sector auditing leads to a more efficient and effective performance of the public sector. This assumption recently has been challenged by adherents of the new public management (NPM). Describes characteristics of NPM such as freeing up controls over and devolving greater responsibility to managers. Answers the question, why should performance auditors be interested in this phenomenon? Discusses the difficulties and challenges that performance auditors are confronted with when they want to contribute to the performance of the public sector. These refer to unintended side‐effects of auditing such as ossification but they also deal with the lack of communication between auditors and auditees. Challenges implicit feedback theory, which underlies work of auditors. Gives suggestions on how to handle some of these challenges.

Since the 1970s the Supreme Audit Institutions (SAI) have gradually expanded their role as external controllers of the public administration. Instead of merely controlling whether accounts are according to standards they have taken on a role as evaluators with a mandate to assess whether the public administration works economically, efficiently and effectively. With this new regime of external control, the question arises whether the SAIs’ control, in practice, contributes to a more efficient and effective public sector. Whether this external control will be effective depends, in the end, on the extent to which the organisations learn from the control they are subjected to and make actual changes. The chapter uses theories of cultural differences and theories on control within public administration to understand civil servant perceptions of SAI results. Data on civil servants’ reactions to the SAIs’ performance audit in four countries are analysed to see whether performance audits have any impact on the audited entities. The research is based on 696 responses to questionnaires sent out to civil servants in three different Nordic countries plus one new democracy in northern Europe, Estonia.

This paper aims to examine the effect of the auditors’ burnout determinates on audit quality and performance. It also analyses whether the demographic characteristics of gender, age group, education and job positions affect auditors’ decisions for burnout, audit quality and performance.

A questionnaire was distributed on a sample of auditors in the top ten auditing firms in an emerging market including the Big 4. Factor analysis, correlation matrix and structural equation modeling were used for the analysis of the collected data and testing the developed hypotheses.

The results show that burnout has negative consequences for both the auditor and the auditing firm. While good organizational climate has a negative significant association with audit quality, nonethical decisions and audit performance, role clarity has positive significant association with the audit quality and performance and has an insignificant association with nonethical decisions. Also, turnover intention has significant positive association with nonethical decision, audit quality and performance.

This research is among the first to focus on auditor’s burnout determinates on audit quality and performance in an emerging market characterized by different socioeconomic, political and cultural factors compared with those of developed markets. Auditors, regulators and professional policymakers can benefit from the results of this research.

The paper seeks to explore the argument for performance auditing and its place in financial management in the Brunei public sector.

The paper draws on the literature on financial management, the author's own experience teaching public sector financial management in Brunei, and interviews with audit staff in Brunei.

Although performance auditing is envisaged in the legislation, the main thrust of auditing is still on financial and procedural compliance; the paper discusses why this is so and in what circumstances it might change.

Examining the experience of performance auditing in Brunei case shows the nature of the contextual factors which underlie the performance‐oriented approach which is assumed in the new public management, and the implications for its application outside the western liberal democratic world.

The value of the paper lies in clearly delineating the nature of the change which the implementation of performance auditing would mean in Brunei public sector and the implications for non‐western countries, particularly oil economies.

The purpose of this study is to examine the mediating effect of effort on the relationship between both accountability pressure and self‐efficacy, and auditors' performance.

The paper uses a between‐subjects experimental research design with accountability pressure manipulated randomly to two groups, accountable and non‐accountable. Each participant is required to perform internal control tasks.

Based on partial least square (PLS) analysis, results indicate that both variables, i.e. accountability pressure and self‐efficacy, are positively related to audit judgment performance through the process of high level of effort. High self‐efficacious participants who received accountability pressure would have high levels of effort, which in turn increase audit judgment performance.

This study provides further evidence on the effect of motivational factors on auditors' performance. Understanding the mediating role of some motivational variables is crucial in designing a continuous development program to enhance auditors' performance. The proposed framework of effort as a mediating variable is consistent with Libby and Lipe and Chang et al., who argue that accountability pressure and self‐efficacy would cause individuals to increase their effort in order to perform better.

The paper contributes to the literature on motivational factors that would explain the variability in audit judgments in coping with complex audit tasks.

This study of the impact of Belgian Court of Audit on Federal Administration for the 2005 to 2010 period aims to highlight the auditors’ influence on the management of governmental organizations through the performance audits they have been conducting since 1998. A set of ten variables allows us to measure the three types of uses of performance auditors’ work by auditees: instrumental, conceptual and strategic use.

A survey was sent out to a total of 148 respondents identified by the authorities of the targeted organizations; 47 usable questionnaires were completed (32 per cent response rate).

The Court of Audit’s impact on the audited entities did not provoke radical changes in the auditees’ organizational life, but the intervention of the auditors was nevertheless noticeable. The nature of the impact was rather conceptual than strategic or instrumental. And the negative consequences on auditees anticipated in the literature were not observed.

Given the five-year period covered by the study which was made in 2014 (four years after 2010), it had to deal with the mortality of respondents and the loss of organizational memory.

The study gives more accurate insights about the influence that Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) actually exert on audited Administrations through their performance audits.

Because SAIs have been mandated to evaluate the government’s economy, efficiency and effectiveness for almost 40 years in the Western democracies, it is mandatory that their actual ability to influence Administrations be documented more abundantly and independently by academic researchers.

This paper synthesizes the extant feedback literature, focusing on how feedback affects an auditor’s learning, performance, and motivation. Performance feedback is an important component in the auditing environment for ensuring quality control and for developing and coaching staff auditors. However, the literature on feedback in the audit environment is fragmented and limited making it difficult to assess its behavioral effects on auditors. This paper has three main objectives. The first is to review some of the influential research in psychology and management to identify key variables and issues that appear to be critical in the study of behavioral consequences of feedback in organizational settings. The second is to review performance feedback research specifically in auditing to identify the areas previously examined and synthesize the findings. The third is to suggest a variety of future research opportunities that may assist in developing an understanding and knowledge of the behavioral effects of feedback on auditors. The literature analysis has significant implications for audit research and practice. In particular, the analysis provides important insights into understanding who, how, and when performance feedback should be given to improve its effectiveness in the audit environment.