The User Perspective in Performance Auditing—A Case Study of Norway

The user perspective is an important contextual factor for Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs). This article provides examples from performance audits in Norway and explores why the user perspective has become important in performance audit practices. It shows that user satisfaction can be employed as a key performance indicator of effectiveness of public services. It addresses the following questions: (a) How does performance auditing relate to the evaluation field? (b) Why is the user perspective important? (c) How can the user perspective add value in performance audits? And finally, (d) How can the user perspective in performance auditing be applied to improve public services? At the end, the article identifies some challenges and opportunities that evolve from applying a user perspective.