Scrutinizing Public Expenditures : Assessing the Performance of Public Accounts Committees

In 2002, David McGee wrote a comprehensive report on two important elements in the system of public financial accountability, namely the office of the Auditor General and the parliamentary oversight committee commonly referred to as the Public Accounts Committee (PAC). The purpose of the present paper is to deepen McGee's analysis of PACs. In particular, the authors define PAC success and identify those factors that affect PAC peformance. They use data that were collected by the World Bank Institute in 2002, when a survey questionnaire was sent to 51 national and state/provincial parliaments in Commonwealth countries in Asia and Australasia, and Canada and the United Kingdom. The authors find that the institutional factors which most account for the success of the PACs are the focus on government's financial activity rather than its policies, the power to investigate all past and present government expenses, the power to follow up on government action in response to its recommendations, and its relationship with the Auditors General.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Stapenhurst, Rick, Sahgal, Vinod, Woodley, William, Pelizzo, Riccardo
Format:	Policy Research Working Paper biblioteca
Language:	English
Published:	World Bank, Washington, DC 2005-05
Subjects:	ACCOUNT, ACCOUNTABILITY, ACCOUNTING, ACCOUNTING POLICIES, ACCOUNTS, ADMINISTRATIVE ISSUES, AUDIT REPORTS, AUDITING, AUDITING STANDARDS, AUDITORS, AUDITS, AUTHORITY, BILLS, BUDGET PROCESS, CABINET, CABINETS, CENTRAL GOVERNMENT, CIVIL SERVANTS, COMMITTEE HEARINGS, COMMITTEE MEETINGS, COMPLIANCE AUDITING, CONSENSUS, CONSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS, DEMOCRACY, DEMOCRATIC COUNTRIES, ELECTION, ELECTIONS, EXECUTION, EXECUTIVE BRANCH, EXECUTIVE GOVERNMENT, EXECUTIVE POWER, FINANCIAL INFORMATION, FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS, FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT, FINANCIAL REPORTING, FINANCIAL REPORTING STANDARDS, FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, FISCAL, FREEDOM, GOOD GOVERNANCE, GOOD PRACTICE, GOOD PRACTICES, GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY, GOVERNMENT ACTION, GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION, GOVERNMENT INFORMATION, GOVERNMENT MINISTERS, GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS, GOVERNMENT PROGRAM, GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS, GOVERNMENT'S BUDGET, HOUSE OF COMMONS, INTEREST GROUPS, INTERNAL AUDIT, JURISDICTIONS, LEGAL TRAINING, LEGISLATION, LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEES, LEGISLATIVE OVERSIGHT, LEGISLATIVE POWER, LEGISLATORS, LEGISLATURE, LEGISLATURES, MAJORITIES, MEDIA, MINISTERS, MOTIONS, NATIONS, PAC, PARLIAMENT, PARLIAMENTARIAN, PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS, PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEES, PARLIAMENTARY LIBRARIES, PARLIAMENTARY OVERSIGHT, PLURALISM, POLICY ISSUES, POLICY RESEARCH, POLITICAL ACCOUNTABILITY, POLITICAL ECONOMY, POLITICAL FACTORS, POLITICAL PARTIES, POLITICIANS, PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION, PROVINCIAL PARLIAMENTS, PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY, PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION, PUBLIC EXPENDITURE, PUBLIC EXPENDITURES, PUBLIC HEARINGS, PUBLIC RESOURCES, PUBLIC SECTOR, PUBLIC SECTOR MANAGEMENT, PUBLIC SERVANTS, PUBLIC SERVICE, PUBLIC SERVICES, PUBLIC SPENDING, REPORTING, REPRESENTATIVES, REVENUE ADMINISTRATION, SELECT COMMITTEE, SELLING, STATE ENTERPRISES, STATE PARLIAMENTS, STATE, STATE/PROVINCIAL, STATE/PROVINCIAL PARLIAMENTS, STATUTORY AUTHORITIES, TRANSPARENCY, WILL OF THE PEOPLE,
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2005/05/5800994/scrutinizing-public-expenditures-assessing-performance-public-accounts-committees http://hdl.handle.net/10986/8244
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