Program Evaluations and Audits

Within any given organization or program, it is usually of great significance that an evaluation or audit is carried out with certain period of time. This is due to the fact that program evaluation and audit are the only tools that can be used not only to determine direction of an organization, but also future and any measures that ought to be undertaken for the wellbeing and existence of an organization. However, despite the fact that program evaluation and audit are of great significance to any given organization, program evaluations and audits are different in terms of their purpose and how they relate to accountability as seen below.

Abbott, (2010) defines an audit program as a set of rules and processes that dictate how auditing is supposed to be placed into practice. It is normally consists of an audit software as well as internal labor that is done manually by an auditor. These actions are applied generally to decide what, and how much evidence ought to be collected and assessed, as well as who will collect and assess it, and when this should be performed (Abbott, 2010).

Therefore, an audit program establishes the processes essential to accomplish a well-organized and effectual audit. It is made up of a detailed plan of the job to be done as well as the procedures needed so as to attain objectives of the audit. In order for a less experienced staff to perform the steps, there is supposed to be sufficient details though it is not supposed to be overly detailed in that it can make auditors to perform procedures routinely and supersede their judgment (Russell, et al. 2011). 

On the other hand, program evaluation refers to an orderly technique for collecting, analyzing, and applying information to give answers that are in regard to policies, programs and projects especially about their efficiency and effectiveness. Stakeholders will therefore want to know if the schemes which they are funding, voting for, implementing, receiving or objecting to are really having the aimed effect, and providing answers to these questions is the work of an evaluator in both private and public sectors. The evaluation process is considered to be a comparatively modern phenomenon (Kosheleva, 2009).

In general, program evaluations and audits have got differences in terms of their purpose and how they relate to accountability. This is due to the fact that, while program audits is concerned with a set of rules and processes that dictate how auditing is supposed to be placed into practice, program evaluation is concerned with an orderly technique for collecting, analyzing, and applying information to give answers that are in regard to policies, programs and projects especially about their efficiency and effectiveness. Hence, despite the difference, the two work closely so as to attain reasonable results and performance in an organization (Donaldson, 2007).