Title: An Assessment of Audit Policies and Practices of the Commission on Audit Among Local Government Units in Pampanga: An Empirical Study
Authors: John Emmanuel Soriano , Irish Jasmine Sagum , Steven Espino , Paula Salac , Yna Isip ,
Volume: 10
Issue: 7
Pages: 60-71
Publication Date: 2026/07/28
Abstract:
This study aimed to present a comprehensive assessment of the implementation of the Pampanga Commission on Audit policies on areas of competence and expertise, independence and objectivity, integrity, adherence to public sector auditing standards, and audit methodology, and to examine the practices of the COA auditors in their performance of financial and compliance audit on Local Government Units. The significance of this study stems from the need to assess the compliance of the COA auditors with set policies and standards, in order to ensure that quality audit is met, strengthening accountability and transparency amid growing concerns over the management of public funds. The study adopted a quantitative, descriptive-correlational methodology, involving accounting personnel from local government units. Data were collected through a modified-structured questionnaire and analyzed using mean, standard deviation, correlation and analysis of variance. The findings revealed that audit policies in Pampanga Commission on Audit are highly institutionalized, with strong emphasis on competence, independence, integrity, and adherence to public sector auditing standards. Audit practices, particularly in financial and compliance audits, were assessed as highly compliant, highlighted by alignment with established standard, together with proper planning and risk assessment. However, areas such as professional skepticism, transparency, and documentation require further enhancement. Overall, the results suggest that audit policies are well-established within COA Pampanga and that audit practices are generally compliant with prescribed standards. Furthermore, a significant relationship between policy implementation and audit compliance was found, indicating that effective policy integration contributes to audit practices with higher levels of conformity to auditing standards.