Abstract:
The phenomenon of the audit expectation gap (AEG)
is a significant concern within the private sector
while the AEG in the public sector has garnered little
attention from scholars. However, it was found that
the definition provided for the expectation gap is
directly relevant to the context of public sector
auditing as well. The purpose of this study is to
investigate the differences in perceptions of
government auditees on the duties of public sector
auditors (PSA) in Sri Lanka. Further, it is expected to
examine the causes for such differences in
perceptions empirically. The sample was selected
randomly from government sector auditees
consisting of administrators, accountants, and senior
staff members. Self-administered questionnaire
including twenty existing duties of public sector
auditors was used as the instrument for collecting
primary data. Kruskal-Wallis test, a non-parametric
test, was mainly performed to examine the significant
differences of the auditee group, whereas the
significant differences between groups were further
examined by employing the Mann-Whitney U test.
Perception gaps were found related to the existing
duties of PSA, the perceived standard of performance
of PSA, and the expected duties of PSA in Sri Lanka.
It was further found that the AEG was widely spread
between staff-associated groups rather than nonstaff-
associated groups. Consequently, it was
concluded that AEG exists among the government
auditees in relation to the duties of PSA in Sri Lanka.
Further, five main causes for the AEG were
recognized.
