Issues Surrounding Public Sector Auditors in Developing Countries

Abstract

The commonality of problems surrounding a broad subject of audit shares similarities in the domain of public sector in developing countries. This paper presents the issues faced by public sector auditors in developing countries by analyzing the data collected through quantitative and qualitative means. The prime focus is to analyze the issues by identifying the prevailing causes of these problems through research conducted and literature reviewed. A total of 300 auditors, who work in the public sector under the direct and indirect supervision of Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP), are sampled for this research. The auditors are divided into two categories, which are Internal and External Auditors, that equally contribute to the function of accountability for the Supreme Audit Institution (SAI) of developing country like Pakistan. Pakistan is taken as a sample country for this research due to its similarities of audit procedures among SAIs of all developing countries. The auditors are categorized based on their age group, qualification and nature of work. Furthermore, a number of issues are identified, such as Staff Shortages, lack of Adequate Time, External Pressure Groups, Record Production Issues, lack of Digitalization, Concern of Personal Security and Lengthy Reporting Procedures. These issues are derived from the data collected in this research and are further analyzed to investigate any potential causes of bureaucratic and cultural nature that are also common among other developing countries. Furthermore, a comparison is also drawn and deliberated upon in this paper that focuses on the Issues faced by Internal and External Auditors of a Public Sector in a developing economy.