Auditing ethics and corruption: οld challenges and new trends for Supreme audit institutions in turbulent times
Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting & Financial Management
ISSN: 1096-3367
Article publication date: 10 August 2022
Issue publication date: 30 October 2023
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine how Supreme audit institutions (SAIs) address the issue of auditing ethical cases and, more specifically, to research whether the organizational structure of an SAI affects the variables of “corruption” and “trust in government.”
Design/methodology/approach
The authors categorized SAIs into two groups depending on their organizational structure according to two divergent philosophies: the court (French) and Anglo-Saxon models. These reflect the presidential and parliamentary systems, respectively. Given the lack of a common definition for these concepts, the authors tested their results using several indexes for corruption by examining OECD (The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) Member countries between 2015 and 2019.
Findings
The authors’ research showed that SAIs organized according to the Anglo-Saxon philosophy achieved better scores than judicial SAIs for all indexes, and the difference was statistically significant. This result confirms the results of previous studies; however, one single common SAI model worldwide is not necessarily the optimal solution for fighting corruption.
Originality/value
The topic of this paper is a challenging and promising one for scholars and practitioners alike, as it combines a review of SAIs' community practices with academic research by expanding the scant literature in this field.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Enago (www.enago.com) for the English language review.
Citation
Kontogeorga, G. and Papapanagiotou, A. (2023), "Auditing ethics and corruption: οld challenges and new trends for Supreme audit institutions in turbulent times", Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting & Financial Management, Vol. 35 No. 4, pp. 474-492. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBAFM-08-2021-0131
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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