A study on the court of accounts audit findings of accounting practices in revolving fund enterprises of the Ministry of Health

As in all sectors, it is important to use resources effectively and efficiently in the provision of health services. This situation can be controlled through audits. Financial audits in the revolving fund enterprises (RFE) of the Ministry of Health (MoH) are carried out by the Court of Accounts (CoA). The aim of the study is to systematically analyze the errors in the accounting records in the audit reports of the CoA belonging to the MoH RFE, to determine the reasons for the errors, to determine the opinions of financial managers based on the possible reasons for these errors, and to provide useful information to the relevant parties. In the study, document analysis, systematic analysis, semi-structured interview and grounded theory methods were used among qualitative research methods. In the study, the audit reports of the CoA between the years 2018-2023 were examined and accounting-related findings and errors were classified according to the balance sheet, income and expense accounts and memorandum accounts. A semi-structured interview survey was organized in line with the information obtained as a result of the analysis. The interview survey was analyzed with the MAXQDA 24 program. The universe of the research was determined as the managers responsible for financial services in the RFEs affiliated to the MoH. Applications were made to the institutions in the provinces for research permission and the provinces of Bartın, Bitlis and Düzce, where permission could be obtained, were included in the study. The sample was determined as managers responsible for financial services in the provinces where research permission could be obtained. In the CoA audit reports, the highest number of errors was in the short-term foreign resources account group with 46 and in the current assets account group with 42. The highest number of errors in accounting records occurred in 2018 and the lowest number in 2023. While some errors occurred once, some errors occurred in all working years. In the interviews with the participants, it was stated that the errors were mostly caused by user errors. In order to reduce user errors, financial legislation and accounting training should be repeated at regular intervals. In addition, the participants stated that they had problems in providing qualified personnel. For this reason, incentive arrangements should be made for the units performing accounting transactions and the personnel should not be changed except in cases of necessity. The participants stated that the Uniform Accounting System program met their needs and that its reporting and modules were sufficient. It is thought that the full integration of different software used by the MoH with each other will reduce errors. User errors can be minimized by entering data from a single point and transferring it to other systems.