Performance audit and the importance of the public debate

The purpose of this article is to explore the impact of performance audit on public policy. The article investigates performance audit reports and the debates they trigger in the public realm. The case of Norway is analysed using mixed methods including a questionnaire, mapping and categorizing of reports, document studies and interviews. The results show that the Norwegian Supreme Audit Institution (SAI) is primarily preoccupied with managerial issues. It is nevertheless open to interpretation whether the preoccupation with managerial issues primarily implies an efficiency and effectiveness focus or an assessment of compliance to managerial standards. Most reports receive moderate attention from the media and the parliamentary control committee. Therefore direct dialogue with the ministries appears to be important to ensure that performance audits are influential. In the public debate the SAI, the ministries and the members of parliament base their argumentation on different institutional logics. These logics can lead to different interpretations of the control system, laws and regulations and hamper the SAI's influence.