New development: Diversification of the Cour des comptes’ activities—a necessary modernization or an identity evolution?

IMPACT

The article offers a framework for supreme audit institution (SAI) practitioners to understand the recent changes experienced by SAIs in OECD countries, such as the introduction of performance audit and an increase in ex-post evaluations, and the effects of these changes on the three types of SAI. The authors explain the four missions of the French SAI (the Cour des comptes) and identify the major national and international events which contributed to the expansion of its role and responsibilities, as well as its new relationship with the parliament and the changes it needs to make to cope with its new responsibilities.

ABSTRACT

This article explores the evolution of the missions and the scope of France’s supreme audit institution: the Cour des comptes. The authors explain that the diversification of the court’s activities is a result of several complementary events, which redefined the court’s role and institutional characteristics. The changes are a major challenge for the institution and the effects have yet to be studied. The court is an unexplored area for researchers—previous publications have either been written by its own members or are limited to interview methodologies. This article starts to fill this gap, while suggesting avenues for further research.

KEYWORDS:

• Control
• Cour des comptes
• École nationale d'administration (ENA)
• France
• public audit
• public policy evaluation
• supreme audit institution (SAI)

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).