TY - JOUR
T1 - Playing a zero-sum game?
T2 - The pursuit of independence and relevance in performance auditing
AU - Triantafillou, Peter
N1 - This article has been found as a ’Free Version’ from the Publisher on September 18 2020. When access to the article closes, please notify rucforsk@ruc.dk
PY - 2020/3/22
Y1 - 2020/3/22
N2 - Supreme audit institutions (SAIs) are fundamental institutions in liberal democracies as they enable control of the exercise of state power. In order to maintain this function, SAIs must enjoy a high level of independence. Moreover, SAIs are increasingly expected to be also relevant for government and the execution of its policies by way of performance auditing. This article examines how and why the performance auditing of the Danish SAI pursues independence and relevance. It is argued that, in general, the simultaneous pursuit of independence and relevance is highly challenging and amounts to a zero-sum or, at the very best, a very modest plus-sum game. More specifically, while the Danish SAI actively pursues both objectives, it has persistently prioritized independence over relevance. This priority seems to be the most effective strategy for the Danish SAI to maintain its legitimacy in a situation where the parliament is characterized by minority governments.
AB - Supreme audit institutions (SAIs) are fundamental institutions in liberal democracies as they enable control of the exercise of state power. In order to maintain this function, SAIs must enjoy a high level of independence. Moreover, SAIs are increasingly expected to be also relevant for government and the execution of its policies by way of performance auditing. This article examines how and why the performance auditing of the Danish SAI pursues independence and relevance. It is argued that, in general, the simultaneous pursuit of independence and relevance is highly challenging and amounts to a zero-sum or, at the very best, a very modest plus-sum game. More specifically, while the Danish SAI actively pursues both objectives, it has persistently prioritized independence over relevance. This priority seems to be the most effective strategy for the Danish SAI to maintain its legitimacy in a situation where the parliament is characterized by minority governments.
UR - https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/padm.12377
U2 - 10.1111/padm.12377
DO - 10.1111/padm.12377
M3 - Journal article
VL - 98
SP - 109
EP - 123
JO - Public Administration
JF - Public Administration
SN - 0033-3298
IS - 1
ER -