Analysis of audit quality in the public sector in Uganda: A case of The Office of the Auditor General

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to analyse audit quality in the public Sector in Uganda. This was driven by the fact that there was an increasing trend of unqualified audit opinions issued by the office of Auditor General and in specific this trend was significant in the reports for Local Authorities. The key objectives that this research addressed were to identify the extent to which International standards of supreme audit institutions were implemented by auditors to ensure quality audits in the public sector and also identify Auditors’ perceptions of the factors that significantly affect audit quality in Uganda. The research approach used was the mixed approach where both quantitative and qualitative data were collected and analyzed. I went on to use a descriptive research design where I made a detailed description of findings on the objectives of the research. My unit of analysis involved auditors from the Directorate of Local Authorities in the Office of Auditor General. The findings of my study indicated that majority of auditors comply with the International Standards of Supreme Audit Institutions (ISSAI) but standards on supervision by seniors and Audit managers at every stage of the audit and also audit of Adjusting and non- Adjusting events of the Local Authorities were still poorly complied with. The study has also revealed that Auditors perceive Skills and Qualifications of an auditor as well as Audit Quality Assurance review to have the most significant impact on audit Quality in the public sector while Auditor tenure at the entity and Compliance with the ethical requirements were considered to have the least impact on Audit quality.