Internal Audit in the Public Sector as a Tool for Risk Prevention of Corruption in Public Administration in Portugal

Abstract

Internal audit plays a crucial role in preventing fraud and corruption in Public Administration. Aims to develop an action plan that will help the organization achieve its goals by adopting a systematic and disciplined approach to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of risk management processes in order to add value and improve operations and performance of an organization. The word corruption means misappropriation of public affairs, including the illegal use of the powers of the Public Administration or similar establishments, in order to obtain the benefits. Corruption can manifest itself in many different forms, from petty corruption to the great corruption. In the present context, the growth of risks that threaten the objectives leads to the implementation of appropriate risk management. Considering the above, with the awareness that corruption and the associated risks is a serious obstacle to normal functioning of institutions, we intend to present in this paper how the internal audit can contribute to preventing the risk of corruption and related offenses in public sector organizations.