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Our paper analyzes recent transformations in the field of external public auditing in Romania, with a particular focus on the transition toward a modern, performance-oriented approach aimed at improving processes. The reforms initiated by the Romanian Court of Accounts aim to adopt best international practices, moving away from traditional coercive methods such as „error hunting" and a focus on sanctions. The proposed „pure" auditing approach emphasizes the formulation of actionable recommendations and effective measures, grounded in professional missions and rigorous performance analysis. The paper also highlights the progress made in increasing the transparency of the Court of Accounts' activities, including the development of guidance mechanisms and uniform practices for external auditors and audited entities. In the context of accelerated digitalization, the institution has implemented modern solutions for data collection and processing, contributing to the prompt drafting of reports and providing better assistance to beneficiaries. These developments position Romania's external public auditing on an upward trajectory, with the potential for alignment with the standards of similar institutions in advanced countries, while also offering substantial support to the majority of good-faith entities. To capture the new directions adopted in external public auditing in Romania, after this brief Introduction (1), we focus on the issue of The renunciation of the jurisdictional function of the Court of Accounts (2) and the topic of Breaking away from the past through continuous reform measures (3), concluding with a Conclusions section (4). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the potential effects of legislative proposals aimed at amending Law No. 94/1992 on the organization and functioning of the Romanian Court of Accounts. Primarily, it is observed that if these initiatives were adopted, they would allow public entities to request information, methodological clarifications, or detailed answers to various questions from the regional Chambers of Accounts. The responses would need to be provided in writing, in the form of an opinion, within 30 days. If the applicant finds the opinion unsatisfactory, they would have the right to challenge it, with justification, within 10 days of receiving the document. Subsequently, a specialized court would resolve the challenge within 10 days of its registration, either upholding or annulling the opinion, in whole or in part. However, the Legislative Council, in its advisory opinion, pointed out that assigning the Court of Accounts the obligation to provide periodic consultancy to interested parties contravenes its constitutional role. Such a mandate would diminish the institution's primary function--control--thereby questioning the balance and efficiency of its activities. Other opinions, discussed in the paper, also highlight delays in legislatively transitioning the Romanian Supreme Audit Institution from financial control to specialized consultancy. The structure of this study includes: (1) Introductory considerations on the creation and functioning of the Romanian Court of Accounts, (2) An analysis of parliamentary efforts to orient the Court's activity toward providing specialized consultancy to public entities (2.1 - An initial initiative focusing on guidance/prevention and discouraging auditor misconduct; 2.2 - Attempts to introduce provisions in Law No. 94/1992 establishing consultancy as a task for auditors), and (3) Conclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing awareness of issues related to climate change, social inequities and corporate governance have led to the need for companies to present non-financial elements in their annual reports. Although, currently, the ESG concept is used by private sector entities, a number of regulatory bodies have focused on the possibility of introducing this type of non-financial reporting also within public entities. This article aims to analyze the possibilities regarding ESG reporting within the public sector in Romania, as well as the role of the Romanian Court of Accounts in terms of carrying out ESG audits, but also the implications of these audits on the performance of the audited entities. Also, the paper aims to analyze the possibility of developing an audit standard in this field, given the concern at the level of the international external public audit community (INTOSAI) regarding this aspect.

The core of sustainable public procurement lies in its ability to stem uneconomical public expenditures that waste taxpayer money and stifle social trust and development. The external audit of public procurement proves problematic since current research fails to provide sufficient empirical studies aimed at identifying procurement fraud. The development of online portals with embedded e-procurement solutions, along with the big data revolution, open new horizons and allow us to reveal trends otherwise impossible to spot, such as transactions achieved in an exclusive commercial relationship, in which a vendor engages only with a single public entity. By using innovative data acquisition techniques, our research encompasses 2.25 million online direct public procurement procedures conducted in 2023 using the Romanian portal for public procurement, totaling EUR 3.22 billion. By aggregating databases obtained from various public sources, our analysis achieved remarkable granularity, using over 112 million data elements—50 pertaining to each transaction. Research results indicate a unique sub-population of public procurement procedures—those conducted with "in-house" vendors totaling 14.28% of all direct public acquisitions and which is significantly differentiated along the entire list of analyzed criteria—financial, geographical, statistical, or risk-wise—illustrating a troubling phenomenon: possible gerrymandering of the online public procurement landscape, which, at least in theory, resembles a perfect market, by cultivating preferential commercial relations, thus affecting the legality, regularity, and economical aspects of public procurement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research carried out through this article was structured starting from the clarification of some key concepts of external public audit, continuing with revealing the role of the supreme institutions of external public audit (such as the Romanian Court of Auditors) in this action of great importance and complexity and concluding with the practical aspects related to the conclusions drawn by the Court of Auditors in the audit missions of the financial statements performed in recent years in army entities. Thus, the approach was structured on the following chapters:

The topic of the study tries to answer the question, „Is external public audit a lever to identify vulnerabilities in the way how the public funds for sustainable regional and local development are managed?” In this respect, the approach started from the analysis and re-treating of the disfunctions found by the Supreme Audit Institution in the management of public funds of the ministry under review. Thus, with the help provided by the global diagnostic grid of the public funding management of the ministry, the disfunctions were addressed in the hierarchical order of the entities which receive public funds and also according to the typology of the deviations. The disfunctions were retreated on the basis of the trinomial criterion of financial accounting - budget execution - internal management control system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The premise of the research is represented by the importance of the external public audit, as a specific activity that the supreme audit institutions carry out at the level of the public sector entities, in order to provide to interested parties, assurances regarding the management of the public resources of these entities. The research objectives are two-dimensional and the research methodology is qualitative and interpretive. The first dimension aims to identify the conceptual connotations of the external public audit in the specialized literature. The second dimension represents a multicriteria comparative analysis regarding the typology of the external public audit carried out by the supreme institutions of the European Union member states. The study is carried out regarding all the 27 member states, information regarding the United Kingdom, which has recently left the European Union, being also presented and analyzed. The research results showed that, although the applied audit methods vary, convergent elements have been identified, so that the typology of the external public audit also validates the European Union "unity in diversity" motto, at the level of the specific activities of the supreme audit institutions in the community area. On the background of an area of undoubted importance, but limited in terms of research, this scientific demarche represents a major challenge for both the academic and the socio-economic environment. Thus, the conceptual valences of the external public audit will be complemented and an increase of credibility and relevance will be generated in the manner of supervising the public financial resources’ management of the public sector entities at the level of the European Union member states, in the context of the economic turbulences and the rising demand for public services manifested at European and international level.

The quality improvement of state audit system is vital and relevant for all post-Soviet republics and Kazakhstan particularly. On the whole, it is grounded on the old notions, and is not suitable for the contemporary economic situation and numerous private enterprises’ growth. The article aims to highlight the advantages of the audit systems in the USA and the UK for the contemporary state of the audit system in the Republic of Kazakhstan. In order to achieve the stated purpose theoretical bases, statistical data, legislative and regulatory official documents were analyzed. The analysis shows that the most perspective approaches to the internal audit system development are risk management and budget planning. The main problematic areas are the legal support, staff of auditing departments and services, the quality of revisions and competence of state auditors. It is substantiated that training and education for the auditors are highly demanded. The internal annual audit reports can be used as the effective instrument of the governmental control as well as the marker of the most undeveloped spheres.

The control of governmental expenditure is one of the main traits of democratic systems. Similarly, the supreme state audit has been around for centuries, in most European states, which have established mechanisms to ensure accountability for the management of public expenditure, as well as to guarantee their transparency and supervision. Public audit focuses on the formation and use of public funds, being an integral part of good governance. It has a wide range of manifestation, covering all areas of the public sector, each of them being analyzed from at least two perspectives: the financial effort of the public sector to carry out the activities and the impact of these activities that are useful to society. The study of the norms elaborated at international level and the experience of advanced European states offers a comprehensive perspective on public audit from a conceptual point of view within the current European context and helps us highlight the role of audit in restoring public confidence in the quality of the financial reporting system. Moreover, public audit plays a decisive role in increasing efficiency and transparency in the management of public resources and in reducing corruption. The impact of the external public audit activity of the Romanian Court of Accounts on the correct and effective management of public financial resources can be highlighted as a whole, using the data from the audit reports published by the institution.

Institutional arrangements (as a synergy of formal and informal institutions) can decisively contribute to mitigating slippages related to the effective functioning of the intrinsic mechanisms resulting from the manifestation of the principal-agent binomial. Some externalities generated by the functioning of bureaucratic organizations tend to vitiate the mandate offered by the citizen to the governmental level, as a representative of the fundamental interests of the population. Starting from the institutionalist paradigm and tools (formal and informal institutions, the imposition of contracts, transaction costs), our research aims to analyze, using a qualitative approach, the role of external public audit in the functioning of formal and informal institutions, in relation to public organizations. The main results of the study highlight the way in which the external public audit carried out by the Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) contributes to remedying the deficiencies related to the improper promotion of taxpayers' interests, the fading of moral hazard (through the prism of opportunistic behavior) as well as the creation of premises aimed at increase trust in society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The external public audit represents the specific activity that the Romanian Court of Accounts (abbreviated RCoA) carries out at the entities that manage financial resources of the state and the public sector, with the aim of providing stakeholders with assurances regarding the management of these resources. Through this investigative approach, we shall give an overview of Romania’s current system of financing the external public audit. The research objectives are threedimensional, and the methodology combines the qualitative and quantitative research and the descriptive-interpretative perspective with the pragmatic research. The first dimension regards the research of the external public audit funding procedure in our country, while the second one focuses on the analysis of trends in financing this activity, based on the data available concerning the annual budgets of the Romanian supreme audit institution. The research horizon is delimited by the period 2015-2019. The third dimension regards the statistical analysis of the correlation between the external public audit funding and its determinants.

Today's reality, affected by the adaptation to the new conditions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, has suffered a series of shocks due to the crisis generated by the infection with the novel coronavirus, with a strong impact on public management. The deciding factors of public administration were surprised by the magnitude of the crisis, very few states being able to optimally manage the risks and the negative effects of the pandemic, which hit the entire world economy. This article aims to analyze the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on public management, the reactions of states and their economic effects, as well as the role of external public audit in crisis management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The control of governmental expenditure is one of the main traits of democratic systems. Similarly, the supreme state audit has been around for centuries, in most European states, which have established mechanisms to ensure accountability for the management of public expenditure, as well as to guarantee their transparency and supervision. Public audit focuses on the formation and use of public funds, being an integral part of good governance. It has a wide range of manifestation, covering all areas of the public sector, each of them being analyzed from at least two perspectives: the financial effort of the public sector to carry out the activities and the impact of these activities that are useful to society. The study of the norms elaborated at international level and the experience of advanced European states offers a comprehensive perspective on public audit from a conceptual point of view within the current European context and helps us highlight the role of audit in restoring public confidence in the quality of the financial reporting system. Moreover, public audit plays a decisive role in increasing efficiency and transparency in the management of public resources and in reducing corruption. The impact of the external public audit activity of the Romanian Court of Accounts on the correct and effective management of public financial resources can be highlighted as a whole, using the data from the audit reports published by the institution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper falls within the category of those about the external public audit in Romania and is intended to be an investigative approach through which we propose to bring in the light of the scientific reflectors certain significant landmarks in the field, starting from the premise that it is a subject of considerable interest from multiple directions. In the described context, the coordinates of the article focus on the topical elements of the approached field and include conceptual delimitations regarding the external public audit, normative approaches in our country, aspects regarding the organization, functioning and management of the supreme audit institution, the presentation of competencies, the field of application for the activities of the Romanian Court of Accounts, as well as its specific attributions related to the external public audit. At the end of the paper, the conclusions on the debated topic are outlined.

The external public audit represents the specific activity that the Romanian Court of Accounts (abbreviated RCoA) carries out at the entities that manage financial resources of the state and the public sector, with the aim of providing stakeholders with assurances regarding the management of these resources. Through this investigative approach, we shall give an overview of Romania’s current system of financing the external public audit. The research objectives are threedimensional, and the methodology combines the qualitative and quantitative research and the descriptive-interpretative perspective with the pragmatic research. The first dimension regards the research of the external public audit funding procedure in our country, while the second one focuses on the analysis of trends in financing this activity, based on the data available concerning the annual budgets of the Romanian supreme audit institution. The research horizon is delimited by the period 2015-2019. The third dimension regards the statistical analysis of the correlation between the external public audit funding and its determinants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The public audit is a mechanism of control that ensures that the public funds are allocated and used in accordance with the applicable legal framework. The Romanian Court of Accounts exercises the external public audit of public funds through the following types of actions: financial audit, performance audit and compliance audit. An efficient audit technique is represented by the use of the CaseWare IDEA (Integrated Data Extraction and Analysis) computer application, which offers extraction, totalization, sampling and editing functions to identify errors, problems, frauds and trends. The external public auditors of the Chambers of Accounts are trained and use, in part, the CaseWare IDEA computer application, obtaining significant results in terms of working time efficiency. It is proposed to further disseminate the findings made with the CaseWare IDEA computer application to external public auditors who do not use it and to increase the degree of training in using this software product. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After becoming a member of the European Union, Romania has developed and implemented a unitary strategy in the field of public internal financial control in line with the European standards and practices in the field. The paper aims at presenting the unitary internal control system applicable at the level of the public entities in our country from the perspective of harmonization with the European legislation and with the European and international standards in the field. At the same time, the public internal financial control is also addressed in the paper from the perspective that, at the level of the public entities in Romania, it is subjected to the external public audit made by the Romanian Court of Accounts as the Supreme Audit Institution (ISA), in order to determine how the managers of the public institutions implement in practice the legal provisions of the internal management control system, the external public auditors have the obligation to know how the entire internal management control system is designed and operated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper falls within the category of those about the external public audit in Romania and is intended to be an investigative approach through which we propose to bring in the light of the scientific reflectors certain significant landmarks in the field, starting from the premise that it is a subject of considerable interest from multiple directions. In the described context, the coordinates of the article focus on the topical elements of the approached field and include conceptual delimitations regarding the external public audit, normative approaches in our country, aspects regarding the organization, functioning and management of the supreme audit institution, the presentation of competencies, the field of application for the activities of the Romanian Court of Accounts, as well as its specific attributions related to the external public audit. At the end of the paper, the conclusions on the debated topic are outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to analyze from the perspective of public external audit activity carried out by the Romanian Court of Accounts, the main deficiencies and irregularities found in the management of public entities in the period 2010-2014. There are also analyzed the causes that led to the deficiencies and irregularities, in order to identify those who have a higher frequency, with the purpose to provide possible solutions to remedy them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The complexity of the public sector generated by the mobilisation and use of significant financial resources, national cultural factors, the heterogeneity of the provision of public services, the numerous interested parties, the increasing demand for the quality of public services, the information asymmetry, require an actor to provide credible assurance regarding the proper management of public financial resources. In this context, performance audits are the link between public sector entities and stakeholders. The research has two components: the first component analyzes the degree of harmonization of the regulations specific to the performance audit in Romania with the International Standards of Supreme Audit Institutions (ISSAI); the second component analyses the degree of transparency of performance audit information by the SAIs of the EU Member States, through their official websites. In this regard, we have resorted to an in-depth longitudinal study, content analysis and disclosure index. The research results highlighted that the Romanian SAI has adopted in its normative framework the foremost ISSAI provisions on performance audit and the harmonization degree has systematically improved correlative with the regulatory revisions. The degree of disclosure for performance audit-specific information by the EU member state SAIs is high. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]