The performance of an organisation is defined essentially as the attainment of the objectives it has set itself. It has three dimensions:
- An economic and financial dimension, which remains the most important, directed at:
o productivity and efficiency — doing more with fewer resources, or at the very least doing more with the same;
o effectiveness, through adherence to procedure and the attainment of the objectives set. - A social dimension, expressed in the satisfaction of stakeholders: customers, through quality, and staff.
- An environmental dimension, characterised by the ideas of sustainable development and environmental performance.
A performance audit of an organisation — a government, a ministry, a business or any other entity — is an independent and objective examination of its operations, systems, programmes and structures from at least one of the following angles: economy, efficiency, effectiveness, and whether scope for improvement exists.
Adapted from the definition of performance auditing given by INTOSAI, the International Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions, in ISSAI 300, Fundamental Principles of Performance Auditing.
It is an examination of management practice and of the systems for controlling and monitoring the activities of central and territorial government, with the emphasis on results. Its purpose is to determine whether government programmes have been conducted according to the principles of economy and efficiency and with regard to their environmental impact, and whether measures exist to guarantee that they are effective. This form of audit, very often applied in the public sector, must be conducted by competent and independent auditors. - AUDICO’s auditors are at the disposal of governments, ministries, municipalities and public entities of every kind, to give them assurance through performance audits as to the quality of their work and how it is perceived.