Government Performance Auditing in the U.S. and China: Lessons Drawn from a Comparative Review

Performance auditing plays a key role in improving government performance and public accountability. This paper examines the concept of government performance auditing in the U.S. and China from a comparative perspective. The paper begins with a brief introduction of the origin of auditing and performance auditing. It then discusses the variances in definitions, names, and underlying values of performance auditing; describes the authorities and organizational structures of performance auditing in the two countries; and reviews the roles of performance auditing in improving government. It concludes with a discussion of challenges as well as opportunities that face government performance auditing in the U.S. and in China.