Accounting audit in public universities: An analysis based on court of accounts findings

Public audit is a critical mechanism for ensuring the effective, economical, and efficient use of public resources as well as accountability. In this context, public universities, which operate under complex financial management structures, hold a distinct importance. Audits conducted by the Turkish Court of Accounts provide significant data to evaluate the level of financial discipline and the accuracy of accounting practices in these institutions. This study aims to analyze the accounting-related findings included in the Court of Accounts' audit reports on Turkish public universities between 2018 and 2023, using the method of content analysis. The primary objective of the study is to identify the most common accounting errors observed in universities, uncover their root causes, and offer structural evaluations from the perspective of public financial management. A total of 787 audit reports were systematically reviewed. The findings reveal that most of the identified errors were associated with accrual-based accounting records, with misclassification of accounts and omission errors being particularly prevalent. The root causes of these errors were identified as regulatory complexity, insufficient personnel capacity, and weaknesses in internal control mechanisms. The results indicate that these deficiencies pose systematic risks to the integrity of financial processes in universities. Based on the findings, the study proposes a series of recommendations to improve financial management processes in public universities. Moreover, the thesis aims to contribute to policies promoting greater accountability, transparency, and efficiency in public sector auditing.