THE PUBLIC-SECTOR AUDITING AS AN ACCOUNTABILITY INSTRUMENT - A CASE STUDY IN THE BRAZILIAN NAVY

The Brazilian Public Administration reforms made under the New Public Management philosophy introduced the concepts of corporate governance and accountability in governmental bodies, leading to the development and implementation of assessment and performance monitoring systems. In this context, the aim of this paper is to examine the appropriateness of the monitoring system of the Brazilian Public Administration activities. Using a case study in the Brazilian Navy, this study analyzes the degree of compliance, in terms of scope and extent of analysis, between the procedures adopted in the Management Assessment Audits of the Submarine Development Program of the Brazilian Navy (PROSUB), and the procedures recommended by the Standard for Auditing Project of the Deutsches Institut fur Interne Revision (DIIR). The results suggest a partial alignment between the audit areas and audit steps promoted by the DIIR model and those adopted in the Management Assessment Audits of the PROSUB. Given the strategic importance of PROSUB, and to ensure the regular accountability regarding the efficiency and effectiveness of its management, it is suggested that the scope of the Management Assessment Audits to the Program include the audit areas that are considered as relevant by the DIIR to be applied to projects developed by Governments.