Ethics, environment and equity

The significance of, and crucial requirement for performance auditing within the public sector is being revealed progressively as a means to enhance the efficacy, efficiency and functioning of the entity and to engender accountability (Andersson & Nilsson 2011: 14). Performance audits in the public sector are conducted predominantly by the relevant supreme audit institutions of a country in conjunction with the inhouse internal audit activities of their various public sector organisations. In-house internal auditors incorporate performance audits within their audit plans to assist in the audit evaluation of organisational performance management and accountability processes (Yan & Li 1997:193; Gheorghiu 2012:163). The public sector is centred on service delivery and fulfilling the needs of the citizenry, rather than being subject to a profit motive. This implies that this sphere has
contrasting and different integral performance measures compared to the private sector (Kells & Hodge 2009: 50). Since performance auditing focuses on assessing the economical acquisition, together with the effective and efficient utilisation of resources, it has the potential to contribute towards providing this requisite public sector performance measurement.

Fundamentally, these arguments suggest that the principal issues an auditor should assess when conducting a performance audit should extend beyond the ‘three Es’, to assess whether the resources have been acquired economically and utilised efficiently and effectively. The advocates to expand the ‘three Es’ posit that evaluation should include additional questions, for example, whether resources have been utilised with consideration and regard for the environment; distributed equally and equitably; and if ethical deployment and resources have been utilised (OAGC 2011:1; Gheorghiu 2012: 168; Norman-Major 2012:13; Jackson 2012; Barr & Christie 2014; Brazilian Court of Audit 2010:13; IDI INTOSAI 2013:33).