An analysis of the role played by the audit office in promoting public expenditure management systems in Zimbabwe

Abstract

The establishment of the Audit Office was primarily meant to enhance sound fiscal prudence and promote economic, efficient and effective public expenditure management systems. On this note, the research speculated the public sector auditing in Zimbabwe in particular the performance of the Audit Office in promoting public expenditure management systems. The study is hinges on the Principal Agency theory which serves as its theoretical and conceptual framework. The research study was primarily qualitative in nature with a few elements of quantitative aspects. Expect sampling was used to sample the population for the research. The targeted respondents that included university students, internal auditors for private companies, internal government department auditor and parastatal auditors were selected and interviewed basing on their level of knowledge on the research topic. The research findings established that the Audit Office in Zimbabwe is being harbored by politics: lack of Audit Committees: unattractive remuneration: brain drain: lack of independence and budgetary constraints. The study concluded by recommendations that there is need to set appropriate appointment procedures, need to offer attractive remuneration, need to render financial independence , need to update legal and regulatory instruments, establishment of Audit Committees and the need for the government to take serious the audit recommendations proffered by the Audit office.