The public sector audit expectations gap in Bangladesh

Abstract

PurposeTo explore whether there is an audit expectations gap in the public sector between the Comptroller and Auditor General's (CAG) auditors in Bangladesh and the users of the CAG reports namely the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Parliament that examines the CAG audit reports and the international funding agencies (IFAs) that provide external funding in the public sector in Bangladesh.Design/methodology/approachThe perceptions of CAG auditors and users of their reports were explored using a questionnaire based on a theoretical framework of accountability and six related audit concepts.FindingsThere were statistically significant differences in perceptions between 17 CAG auditors and the 15 members of the PAC on 13 of the 25 variables and between these 17 CAG auditors and nine representatives of the IFAs on 14 of these variables.Research limitations/implicationsThe relatively small number of respondents to this questionnaire is a limitation of this research project.Practical implicationsBetter training for the CAG auditors into their report users' information requirements and expectations and better training for the members of the PAC and the representatives of the IFAs coupled with more cooperation between the CAG auditors, the PAC and the IFAs might help to reduce this audit expectations gap in the public sector in Bangladesh.Originality/valueThis is the first time that statistical evidence has confirmed the existence of an audit expectations gap between CAG auditors and users of their audit reports in the context of the public sector.