E-guide On Participatory Audit

Citizen Engagement Practices by Supreme Audit Institutions: Tools and Methods

  1. Module 02
  2. Citizen Participation in the Audit Process
  3. Engagement Tools

Participation During the Audit

In recent years, expanded use of participatory data collection and analysis tools, combined with enhanced opportunities for civic engagement with the State, have led to a new generation of social accountability practices that emphasize a solid evidence base and direct interaction with government counterparts. Those practices include participatory decision making, participatory budgeting, public expenditure tracking, and citizen monitoring and evaluation of public service delivery.

CSOs can use various social accountability tools to complement existing auditing procedures by SAIs, especially while conducting fieldwork for performance and compliance audits. The use of social accountability mechanisms during the audit implementation phase can add value in the performance audit, for instance, by (a) using citizen groups’ experiences with the survey methodology to assess performance of public service delivery agencies, or (b) using social audits to access the compliance of a government program, process, or transaction and whether or not it has followed applicable rules and guidelines.

This section discusses mechanisms and techniques that can be used to elicit participation from the public. Some of them also allow for interaction, with communication flowing in both directions. Whereas some techniques are general-purpose tools, others serve more specialized uses. Through selected case studies, the effectiveness of social accountability tools will be addressed to identify strategies and mechanisms that may be useful when developing participatory policies in other contexts.

Participatory Audit
Other tools and practices during the audit execution phase
The use of Social Accountability Tools

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Bibliography

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UN (2006):“Dialogue on Civil Society Engagement in Public Accountability”, Workshop Report, Manila, Philippines.

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INTOSAI (2013): “Challenges of SAIs regarding Sustainable and Efficient Ways to Communicate their Audit Findings and Recommendations”, INTOSAI Basic Paper, 22nd UN/INTOSAI Symposium, Vienna, March 5-7.