Assessing the Information Content of the Auditor General’s Report in Voluntary Tax Compliance Decisions in Ghana from the Experts’ Perspective

Abstract

The utility value of auditing public sector accounts is widely reported in the advanced and developing economies including Sub-Sahara Africa economies. Such reports claim that public sector financial audit influences transparency, probity, financial discipline, accountability, and voluntary tax compliances decisions. This study tests this widely acclaimed view by assessing the information content of the Auditor General’s (AG) report in voluntary tax compliance decisions in Ghana, a Sub-Sahara Africa nation. The assessment used a panel of 12 experts in a 2-round seeded decision email Delphi methodology. The panel of experts reached weak consensus that the AG’s report is an objective and a useful tool for assessing voluntary tax compliance behaviors and taxpayers’ decisions on the job retention of an indicted corrupt public official in the country; in assessing public institutions’ performance; fiscal deficits; the fight against corruption; and policy formulation and planning. Therefore, the AG’s report can be a powerful tool for resolving the incomplete information and the information risks of the Ghanaian taxpayer. It can also be useful for protecting the public purse, for preventing waste, fraud, embezzlement, and corruption in the management of Ghana’s public purse. This result is consistent with findings in Europe, Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Uganda that public sector audit influences voluntary tax compliance decisions. So, the AG’s report has information content in voluntary tax compliance decisions in Ghana. Consequently, Ghana and the other Sub-Sahara Africa nations can use public sector financial audit as a useful and objective tool to improve voluntary tax compliance attitudes in their various economies because it can positively influence the availability of funds for public programs and services. This is particularly important in this COVID19 era when funding sources are scarce. Since the level of consensus among the panelists was somehow weak, further iterations are required to determine the stability of the responses. The study extends literature methodologically by using the email Delphi study to assess the information content of the AG’s report on voluntary tax compliance behaviors in Ghana.