What does this research mean for the field?

Local self-government audit reporting practices exhibit significant heterogeneity across Balkan countries, with North Macedonia, Slovenia, and Croatia demonstrating high but distinct transparency profiles, whereas Montenegro shows comparatively lower transparency and limited follow-up disclosure. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.NOVEL_FINDING. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

What question did this study set out to answer?

To evaluate the transparency and reporting practices of local self-government audits conducted by supreme audit institutions and assess their alignment with international accountability standards.

August 29, 2026Journal of Public Budgeting Accounting & Financial Management

Local self-government audit reporting in selected Balkan countries: a comparative content analysis of supreme audit institutions' reports

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Authors

IDIvan DionisijevSaints Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje ZLZorica Bozhinovska LazarevskaSaints Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje TTTodor TocevSaints Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje

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Implication

Longitudinal comparative analysis reveals substantial heterogeneity in municipal audit transparency across supreme audit institutions, highlighting uneven disclosure of audit follow-up data.

Key Points

To evaluate the transparency and reporting practices of local self-government audits conducted by supreme audit institutions and assess their alignment with international accountability standards.
Conducted a longitudinal comparative content analysis of 40 annual reports published by supreme audit institutions across North Macedonia, Montenegro, Croatia, and Slovenia from 2015 to 2024.
Operationalized evaluations using the novel Local Audit Transparency Index (LATI), applying binary scoring across four dimensions: structure, scope, follow-up, and accessibility.
North Macedonia, Slovenia, and Croatia demonstrated consistently high LATI scores, characterized by unique strengths in structural visibility, scope coverage, and follow-up reporting, respectively.
Montenegro exhibited comparatively lower LATI scores, relying predominantly on isolated municipal excerpts with limited disclosure regarding audit recommendation follow-up.

Cite This Study

Dionisijev et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a92994d8e5d7d1fc0c111fd https://doi.org/10.1108/jpbafm-11-2025-0351

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Implication

Longitudinal comparative analysis reveals substantial heterogeneity in municipal audit transparency across supreme audit institutions, highlighting uneven disclosure of audit follow-up data.

Local self-government audit reporting in selected Balkan countries: a comparative content analysis of supreme audit institutions' reports

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

Local self-government audit reporting in selected Balkan countries: a comparative content analysis of supreme audit institutions' reports

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

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