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 pap...

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Main Authors:	Stapenhurst, Rick, Sahgal, Vinod, Woodley, William, Pelizzo, Riccardo
Format:	Policy Research Working Paper
Language:	English
Published:	World Bank, Washington, DC 2012
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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spelling	okr-10986-82442021-04-23T14:02:42Z Scrutinizing Public Expenditures : Assessing the Performance of Public Accounts Committees Stapenhurst, Rick Sahgal, Vinod Woodley, William Pelizzo, Riccardo 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 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. 2012-06-18T14:34:04Z 2012-06-18T14:34:04Z 2005-05 http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2005/05/5800994/scrutinizing-public-expenditures-assessing-performance-public-accounts-committees http://hdl.handle.net/10986/8244 English Policy Research Working Paper; No. 3613 CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/ World Bank World Bank, Washington, DC Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper Publications & Research
repository_type	Digital Repository
institution_category	Foreign Institution
institution	Digital Repositories
building	World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection	World Bank
language	English
topic	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
spellingShingle	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 Stapenhurst, Rick Sahgal, Vinod Woodley, William Pelizzo, Riccardo Scrutinizing Public Expenditures : Assessing the Performance of Public Accounts Committees
relation	Policy Research Working Paper; No. 3613
description	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.
format	Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper
author	Stapenhurst, Rick Sahgal, Vinod Woodley, William Pelizzo, Riccardo
author_facet	Stapenhurst, Rick Sahgal, Vinod Woodley, William Pelizzo, Riccardo
author_sort	Stapenhurst, Rick
title	Scrutinizing Public Expenditures : Assessing the Performance of Public Accounts Committees
title_short	Scrutinizing Public Expenditures : Assessing the Performance of Public Accounts Committees
title_full	Scrutinizing Public Expenditures : Assessing the Performance of Public Accounts Committees
title_fullStr	Scrutinizing Public Expenditures : Assessing the Performance of Public Accounts Committees
title_full_unstemmed	Scrutinizing Public Expenditures : Assessing the Performance of Public Accounts Committees
title_sort	scrutinizing public expenditures : assessing the performance of public accounts committees
publisher	World Bank, Washington, DC
publishDate	2012
url	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2005/05/5800994/scrutinizing-public-expenditures-assessing-performance-public-accounts-committees http://hdl.handle.net/10986/8244
_version_	1764407379380666368

Scrutinizing Public Expenditures : Assessing the Performance of Public Accounts Committees

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