On the performance audit: a comprehensive audit or high-level audit

Paper Keywords comprehensive audit of the performance audit of high-level audit
Abstract performance audit is the mainstream of the international audit, and understand the nature of the performance audit of great significance to the article by way of performance audit of the existing two kinds of advantages and disadvantages of analysis, pointing out the characteristics of two ways, and on this based on the build our current way of performance audit recommendations.


First, the importance of understanding the nature of performance audit
Understanding of the decisions taken. To understand the nature of the performance audit and determine the positioning of the choice of our performance audit methods. At present, despite the performance audit has not yet formed a unified standard, but in theory, understanding and practice, has been clearly demonstrated some of the features of its own. correctly grasp the advantages and disadvantages of two ways, to help auditors in such a manner, scientific organization of audit work to improve the efficiency of the audit, performance audit of the full swing to provide a good foundation.

Second, that the performance audit is a comprehensive analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of audit
(A benefits analysis
1. Comprehensive performance audit in line with a certain stage of national conditions, its existence is the political, Economic and legal environment foundation comprehensive performance audit is an important performance audit of foreign ways of early 20th century the late 1940s, the United States government body the Audit Commission began to implement " comprehensive audit, "the reasonable use of public funds, legitimacy, authenticity and efficiency of the inspection. Canada's early performance audit is the traditional compliance audit and performance audit of the combination of both inspection and evaluation of the audited units to comply with laws and regulations and accounting standards, and inspection and evaluation of the performance of the audited entity, which shows the world countries to undertake performance audit is not a beginning high-level independent performance audit, but by a comprehensive performance audit to a higher level of a performance audit into the practice of quantitative change to qualitative change in the accumulation process.

2. To enhance the national capacity building support through the compliance audit, the country's Economic resources to promote the effective control and management, maintaining the healthy operation of national Economic order through performance audits, reduce losses, improve management, to promote the country's energy efficiency, technical efficiency, efficiency of resource allocation, management efficiency and institutional efficiency, and enhance the level of national competitiveness and sustainable development. comprehensive audit and try to achieve two core capabilities, providing support to national capacity building.

(B) Disadvantages Analysis
1. Auditors face the dual pressure at this stage, the audit should play a run of national Economic and social "immune system" function, the problem facing the investigation of illegal performance audit revealed problems with the dual pressures, particularly at the local audit institutions, the authenticity of the heavy financial, legitimacy of the audit tasks occupy audit resources, restricting the performance audit carried out.

2. Easily lead to cognitive bias. Compliance audit is an important basis for performance audit, but not the only basis a comprehensive performance audit to make people mistakenly believe that the performance audit must first undergo a compliance audit. This view is wrong if the relevant information to carry out performance audit has been conducted before the compliance audit, performance audit is carried out is more convenient, if before the relevant information to carry out performance audits for compliance audits are not, it does not mean performance audit can not be carried out. can carry out performance audit, but the target should be based on the requirements of performance audit, financial revenue and expenditure before the relevant financial and other information, to conduct the review, investigation, and then the performance evaluation, recommendations for improvement, which case, the performance audit of the workload will be larger, but still carried. Links to free download http://www.hi138.com Third, that the performance audit is the audit of the advantages and disadvantages of high-level analysis
(A benefits analysis
1. Normative requirement is low, more flexible, directly to conduct performance audits of the performance audit when the high-level, because the choice of audit performance audit to determine audit procedures, audit selection methods to determine the criteria, the audit opinion expressed in the project should be based on the audit reasonable circumstances. performance audit can be a government department or public sector entity, it can be a government activity, but also is a government expenditure, the individual circumstances of each project is often a great difference, so the auditors in the audit judge, evaluate and recommend discretion when larger, stronger autonomy, methods are more flexible, efficient and not legally mandatory.

2. Save resources. Auditors from the real heavy, the legitimacy of the financial audit freed, some people focus on research and practice of performance audit, in a more targeted public resources for the state occupancy, usage recommendations, rational planning, allocation resources, can make the performance audit results to better reflect the "prevention" "expose" "resist" effect.

(B shortcomings Analysis
1. Elements of uncertainty, leading to approach difficult to master. Performance audit is a high-level audit is in its infancy, the theoretical and practical operational guidelines system has not yet formed, including the audit scope, methods, standards, and means need to explore and innovation, performance audit objects vary different performance audit of its economy, effectiveness, efficiency of implementation and requirements are not the same, similar to the compliance audit as a universal measure of performance audit of the index system is difficult to form based on the above two points, high levels of performance audit can not stick fits-all approach, but the lack of innovation and talent to make the performance audit of the implementation process is difficult to establish a sense of innovation, is not conducive to development.

2. Performance audit is generally in compliance audits based on the high-level audit, as long as the audited entity to verify and confirm the financial data and other relevant financial data on the basis of authenticity, coupled with some special performance audit investigation, the audit staff in order to as a basis for comparison, analysis of the performance of a performance audit to make objective and fair assessment, but if the fiscal and financial data, wrong or false, if the auditors as a basis for performance audit, is bound to get the error performance evaluations.

Fourth, our current choice of mode of performance audit
Based on the above performance audit of the advantages and disadvantages of two methods, we can see its advantages and disadvantages, there is no direct question which one is better, in certain circumstances must be evaluated.

I think with the combination of compliance audits the performance of our audit approach is a realistic choice. One can adapt to the current external environment, the second is in line with the full implementation of compliance audit and performance audit responsibilities require the third is the current audit institutions and auditors to carry out bound for the case of performance audit, but not the same performance audit compliance audits, compliance audits are not effective level in a simple extension of this stage, we only train people to accumulate experience for the future when the time is ripe to carry out large-scale comprehensive performance audit basis.


References:
[1] Wu Qiusheng Government audit functions of the Chinese Financial and Economic Publishing House .2007.10.

[2] Chen Chuanlu At this stage our government performance audit mode design the audit Digest .2010.4.

[3] Liu Jiayi.'s Preliminary thinking on performance auditing The audit study .2004.6.

[4] Audit Commission's Republic of China Foreign Affairs, Foreign effectiveness of the audit profile. China Economic Publishing House .2005. Links to free download http://www.hi138.com