Evaluation of the efficiency of the internal control system in municipalities

The internal control system is the set of procedures determined by the administrations in order to detect and prevent all kinds of risks that may arise during the achievement of the objectives of the public administrations, to protect their assets, to ensure accountability, and to ensure that the transactions are carried out economically, efficiently, effectively and in accordance with the law. The application of this system, which has become mandatory in public administrations in our country with the "5018 sayılı Kamu Mali Yönetim ve Kontrol Kanunu", has been the subject of research in our study, how effectively it is applied in municipalities as of 2020. Our study was carried out with three different examinations. The first of the study; In the 2019 External Audit General Evaluation Report published by the Court of Accounts, the relationship of the most frequently detected errors in municipalities with internal control was examined. As a result of the study, it has been understood that if the internal control was applied effectively in the municipalities, most of the mistakes made in income generating activities, the use of immovables, the preparation of the financial statements, the borrowings, and the personnel expenditures would not be made. The second of the study; An interview on internal control was conducted with the senior manager of a holding that effectively implements internal control. Although the purpose of our study is to measure the effectiveness of internal control in municipalities, the reason for conducting research on the internal control system of a company in the private sector is to understand the practices of a company that implements internal control effectively and to understand whether these practices are applied in municipalities. As a result of the interview, it was concluded that all of the statements in the Communiqué on Public Internal Control Standards were applied in the relevant company, were regulated in writing, and unwritten matters were applied as customary by the company employees. The third of the studies; A total of 79 statements, inspired by the private sector and included in the Communiqué on Public Internal Control Standards, were applied to 202 spending officials of 9 municipalities in Ankara. When the studies are evaluated together, according to the survey answers received from the spending authorities, the internal control system in the municipalities is applied at the medium level and even above the medium level for some components. However, the most mistakes in both the TCA Audit Reports and the TCA External Audit General Evaluation Reports are found in municipalities.