Performance Audit Theory

Author: Cai Chun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
Features: Basic audit theory holds that the continuous expansion of the content of entrusted economic responsibility is the intrinsic basis for the innovation and development of auditing. From a historical perspective, the early content of entrusted economic responsibility primarily demanded the safeguarding of resources (property), i.e., the responsibility of preservation. The emergence and development of performance auditing have their specific political and historical backgrounds. In the 1930s and 1940s, the content of entrusted economic responsibility began to shift toward higher requirements—emphasizing thrift, efficiency, and effectiveness—and by the 1970s, a relatively mature performance auditing centered around the "3E" framework had taken shape. Performance auditing in foreign countries has played a significant role in discharging entrusted economic responsibilities, improving public management, and achieving effective political checks and balances.