課責是否能提升績效？臺灣政府審計影響之探討

Can Enhanced Accountability Improve Performance? The Impact of Auditing in Taiwan

蔡馨芳(Hsin-Fang Tsai)

《文官制度》 8卷4期 (2016/11) Pp. 75-101

摘要

政府審計乃國家治理不可或缺之一環，審計機關應持續致力於發揮監督、洞察及前瞻功能，以成為值得人民信賴之典範機關，並有效促進良善國家治理。美國前審計長David Walker於2005年曾表示：「聯邦審計署（Government Accountability Office, GAO）是一個協助提升政府運作效能且負起施政責任的組織。基於此目標，聯邦審計署協助國會監督行政機關運作，洞察提升政府效能的各種方式，並前瞻未來各種挑戰。」然而，審計人員在進行審計工作的傳統信念－透過課責方式可提升施政績效之關係果真存在嗎？課責真的能讓績效提升嗎？抑或只是「吹毛求疵」（nit-picking），針對小錯誤窮追猛打並加以懲罰，最後侵蝕公眾對政府的信任呢？本文採用量化內容分析法，針對國內審計機關所公布之審計績效報告，解構內容並解讀其對行政機關提供公共服務之效能所造成的影響。基於國內審計機關在主要業務上近年來所獲致之成果，在財務上、內控制度上或政策規劃執行上，協助行政機關發現問題並提出可行之解決方式，並獲得行政機關的採納，對於提升政府績效逐漸產生正面效果及影響力；審計報告中糾正建議強調提升計畫之業務及管理效能及改善計畫之規劃。同時其所產生之影響，主要為著重績效預期結果、重視審計建議之接受度、執行情況及對決策過程之影響等「工具型」及「戰術型」之類型及模式。

關鍵字

審計 ； 績效審計 ； 課責 ； 審計影響 ； 內容分析

並列摘要

Auditing is an indispensable part of governance. The Supreme Audit Institution (SAI) should effectively promote good governance and become a main authority which plays a role for oversight, insight and foresight. David Walker, former Comptroller General of the United States and head of the Government Accountability Office (GAO), said, ＂We're in the business of helping government work better and holding it accountable to the people. To this end, GAO provides Congress with oversight of agency operations, insight into ways to improve government and foresight about future challenges. Auditors are intended for their work to improve the performance of the agencies they audited.＂ However, has auditing actually improved government performance? Or has it undermined public trust ultimately by nit-picking, pouncing on minor errors and punishing? This paper adopted quantitative content analysis to describe the performance evaluation of the National Audit Office in Taiwan, to deconstruct and interpret the impacts the audit reports might have had on the effectiveness, efficiency and mechanisms of public services. The author concluded that the work of Supreme Audit Institution assists auditees to find problems and provide feasible solutions, some of which have been adopted. Suggestions such as how to promote the projects' management and implementation, and how to improve the policy planning are emphasized. Gradually auditing has a positive effect on improving performance. In the meantime, the types of impacts of performance auditing in Taiwan are also instrumental and tactical. In other words, action was often taken during the auditing process to remedy failings found in the functioning of a government entity and had impacts on the decision-making process.

並列關鍵字

audit ； performance auditing ； accountability ； auditing impact ； content analysis

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