Performance auditing: Improving the quality of political and democratic processes?

In an attempt to improve the quality of political and democratic processes, governmental organisations could decide to introduce performance auditing. However, earlier studies suggest that performance auditing can actually damage the quality of these processes, especially when it leads to information about the inputs, outputs and efficiency of programmes or activities. This raises the question of whether performance audits that lead to other types of information have similar effects. This paper analyses the effects of two local government audit committees in the Netherlands, both of which conduct performance audits that produce a broad set of information. It concludes that the lack of success of performance auditing, in terms of its contribution to the quality of political and democratic processes, cannot fully be explained by the type of information that is produced. In order to strengthen their role, audit bodies must find a balance between maintaining an independent position and responding to the expectations and requirements of their key stakeholders, which include the elected body, the Executive and the official organisation.