Abstract
This study focuses on factors that influence the effective implementation of audit recommendations given by the Auditor General (AG), with specific reference to South African municipalities. The establishment of democratic local government in South Africa in the year 2000 decentralised the decision-making powers from the centre to the periphery. Municipalities are accountable for their own financial preparation and the planning of their budgetary processes. The national government, though, remains accountable for providing resources in terms of funding and programs or policy implementation. Notwithstanding the enormous investment in terms of resources (funding and capacity building programs), empirical studies and municipal audit reports revealed that most of the South African municipalities were not taking corrective action on the issues of irregularities raised in prior year audits; hence some of the weaknesses and problems remained unresolved or were recurring yearly. Thus, this study aims to discuss factors that influence municipalities failure to efficiently and effectively implement audit recommendations given by Auditor General of South Africa (AGSA).
The research methodology used in this research is mainly qualitative and relied heavily on robust literature study (academic overview) and a review of key documents (specific reports on local government performance) in to achieve this research objective.
The main findings of this study are that factors influencing implementation of audit recommendation include: availability of resources and time, lack of accountability, lack of follow up actions, complex issues, staffing issues, and lack of reasonable time frame for implementing the recommendations. To deal with these challenges, the study recommends the following strategies: establishing and ensuring a vibrant Audit committee, planning and determining the time frame in which to implement external audit recommendations, developing implementation progress report system, undertaking follow up actions, and the government to commensurate responsibility of leaders with accountability for proper implementation of audit recommendations in the South African Municipalities.
M.A. (Public Management and Governance)