Abstract:
Public procurement is one of the major areas of public expenditure accounting for
a substantial portion of the annual budget for both local and central governments in Tanzania.
Although the Government of Tanzania has put in place regulatory institutions, laws, and
regulations for effective and value for the money procurement process, still compliance is one
of the major problems. The aim of this study was to assess factors hindering the effectiveness of
procurement auditing in the public institutions in Tanzania while focusing specifically to
Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA) as a case study. Specifically, the study sought to
examine the influence of professional skills on effective compliance with procurement auditing,
examine the role of integrity in compliance with procurement auditing, and examine the role of
auditor’s independence in compliance with procurement auditing. The study involved a
total of 33 respondents. Data were collected through questionnaires and key informant
interviews. Findings showed that factors like professional skills, continuous training, and
individual auditor’s experiences influenced compliance with procurement auditing. Also,
The integrity of auditors was found to influence compliance with procurement auditing as well
as increasing organizational effectiveness. Also, the findings revealed that external
auditors enhanced the effectiveness of the procurement auditing process while lack of
independence leads to misstatements in the audit reports. The study concluded that
possession of relevant skills; auditors’ integrity and independence were key factors for
effective public procurement auditing. This study calls for the Government of Tanzania to
hire qualified auditors in its institutions. Also, TANAPA should train its auditing staff on
relevant short courses as part of capacity building to its auditing staff.
