ANALYSIS OF EXPLANATORY FACTORS ABOUT THE UNCONFORMITIES IDENTIFIED BY THE TCE/RS IN MUNICIPAL AUDITS

Abstract

This article aims to identify the factors that may explain the occurrence of different levels of non-conformities identified by the TCE/RS in the municipal executive management. The  study refers to external control of public management focused on external audit conducted by Superior Audit Institution of Rio Grande do Sul (TCE/RS), considering the advent of the Fiscal Responsibility Law (LRF). This is an exploratory study and quantitative approach. Besides the content analysis of the Consolidated Audit Reports, a descriptive statistics and an econometric analysis were adopted. The study population is the auditing reports of metropolitan area ofPorto Alegre. The period reviewed refers to the years of 1996/97 (pre-LRF), 2000/2001 (LRF implementation) and 2004/2005 (LRF full application). The main results show that the LRF is a relevant factor with regard to the role of external control. Furthermore, the irregularities more frequently identified by the TCE/RS in their municipal auditing procedures, was relate to: a) human´s resources; b) expenses, revenues; c) bidding procedures; d) contracts and agreements; e) internal controls systems, comprising 83.4% of mismatches. The educational level of the population is inversely proportional to the appointment of non-conformities.