Performance and Value-for-Money Auditing Training Course

Course Introduction

The Performance and Value-for-Money Auditing Training Course provides a comprehensive and practical framework for evaluating whether public resources are being used economically, efficiently, effectively, and in accordance with intended objectives. The program equips auditors with the methods required to assess government programs, projects, services, operations, and expenditures beyond traditional financial compliance and control assurance.

The course examines the core dimensions of performance auditing, including economy, efficiency, effectiveness, coherence, service quality, timeliness, outputs, outcomes, and sustainability. Participants will learn how to translate organizational objectives and public policy commitments into appropriate audit criteria, questions, indicators, evidence requirements, analytical procedures, and conclusions that provide meaningful insight into public sector performance.

Participants will develop practical skills for planning and executing value-for-money audits across government departments, agencies, programs, projects, infrastructure initiatives, public services, procurement activities, and externally funded programs. The training addresses risk assessment, audit scope, performance criteria, benchmarking, process analysis, sampling, interviews, data analytics, document review, fieldwork, evaluation of results, and evidence-based conclusion development.

The program also focuses on determining why performance gaps occur and how auditors can distinguish between resource constraints, weak processes, inadequate controls, poor planning, governance weaknesses, capacity limitations, ineffective implementation, and external factors. Participants will learn to apply root cause analysis and develop recommendations that address underlying problems rather than simply documenting symptoms or isolated performance failures.

Modern performance auditing increasingly involves large datasets, digital government, automated services, artificial intelligence, climate-related programs, complex procurement arrangements, public-private partnerships, and cross-agency service delivery. The course incorporates these emerging issues and demonstrates how auditors can use data analytics, technology-enabled procedures, benchmarking, outcome analysis, and integrated evidence to assess performance in increasingly complex environments.

By completing the program, participants will be better prepared to design risk-based performance audits, assess value for money, evaluate program outcomes, analyze performance information, identify systemic causes of underperformance, and communicate actionable findings to management and oversight bodies. The course emphasizes independence, professional skepticism, evidence quality, analytical rigor, public value, transparency, and practical recommendations that support sustainable improvements in government performance.

Duration

10 days

Who Should Attend

• Chief audit executives and heads of internal audit functions responsible for performance and value-for-money assurance.

• Internal audit directors, managers, supervisors, and senior auditors conducting operational, performance, program, or efficiency audits.

• Public sector auditors seeking advanced techniques for evaluating economy, efficiency, effectiveness, outcomes, and public value.

• Performance audit professionals responsible for assessing government programs, projects, services, and resource utilization.

• Government finance and public financial management professionals seeking stronger understanding of value-for-money auditing.

• Monitoring and evaluation professionals involved in program performance, results measurement, outcome assessment, and institutional effectiveness.

• Program and project managers responsible for delivering government initiatives, public services, infrastructure, and development programs.

• Risk management professionals assessing operational, strategic, financial, program, and performance-related risks.

• Procurement and contract management professionals involved in assessing supplier performance, contract outcomes, cost efficiency, and value delivery.

• Governance and audit committee professionals responsible for oversight of organizational performance and public resource utilization.

• External audit and supreme audit institution professionals involved in performance, operational, or value-for-money reviews.

• Compliance and regulatory professionals evaluating whether programs and services achieve intended statutory and policy objectives.

• Data analytics and information technology professionals supporting performance measurement, audit analytics, and evidence-based assurance.

• Professionals preparing for leadership roles in internal audit, performance auditing, public financial management, governance, risk, or program assurance.

Course Objectives

• Develop advanced knowledge of performance auditing principles and apply structured methodologies for evaluating economy, efficiency, effectiveness, outcomes, and public value.

• Understand the distinctions between financial, compliance, operational, performance, program, and value-for-money auditing and determine appropriate approaches for different audit objectives.

• Develop risk-based performance audit plans that align audit objectives, significant performance risks, public priorities, organizational objectives, program outcomes, and available resources.

• Establish clear and defensible audit criteria using legislation, policies, strategic plans, performance standards, benchmarks, contracts, professional practices, and intended program outcomes.

• Design effective audit questions and methodologies that enable auditors to assess resource utilization, processes, outputs, outcomes, service quality, efficiency, and effectiveness.

• Apply quantitative and qualitative evidence-gathering techniques, including interviews, document review, observation, surveys, sampling, benchmarking, data analysis, and process examination.

• Evaluate whether public resources are acquired and utilized economically while considering quality, suitability, timing, lifecycle costs, procurement practices, and operational requirements.

• Assess operational efficiency by examining processes, productivity, resource utilization, bottlenecks, delays, duplication, waste, capacity, technology, and opportunities for improvement.

• Evaluate program effectiveness by determining whether planned outputs and outcomes are achieved and identifying factors that contribute to performance gaps or successful results.

• Apply data analytics, performance indicators, benchmarking, visualization, and emerging technologies to strengthen evidence-based performance and value-for-money auditing.

• Develop high-quality performance audit findings and recommendations that clearly explain performance gaps, root causes, consequences, risks, and opportunities for sustainable improvement.

• Communicate performance and value-for-money conclusions effectively to management, audit committees, oversight bodies, and other stakeholders while maintaining objectivity and evidential rigor.

Comprehensive Course Outline

Module 1: Foundations of Performance and Value-for-Money Auditing

• Understanding the purpose, principles, scope, objectives, and distinctive characteristics of performance and value-for-money auditing.

• Examining economy, efficiency, effectiveness, outputs, outcomes, service quality, sustainability, coherence, and public value as dimensions of performance assessment.

• Distinguishing performance auditing from financial, compliance, operational, management, program evaluation, and traditional internal control auditing.

• Understanding the role of professional skepticism, independence, objectivity, evidence, analytical judgment, and public accountability in performance audits.

Module 2: Performance Audit Governance, Mandate and Planning

• Understanding performance audit mandates, governance requirements, organizational responsibilities, reporting relationships, and oversight expectations.

• Developing performance audit strategies that align with institutional objectives, public priorities, significant risks, program importance, resource exposure, and stakeholder concerns.

• Establishing audit objectives, scope, timelines, resources, responsibilities, methodologies, quality requirements, and stakeholder engagement arrangements.

• Applying quality assurance and supervisory review processes to ensure performance audits remain focused, evidence-based, objective, and methodologically sound.

Module 3: Risk Assessment and Selection of Performance Audits

• Identifying performance risks across government programs, projects, services, procurement, infrastructure, operations, and public resource management activities.

• Assessing risks using significance, materiality, public impact, financial exposure, performance history, complexity, stakeholder concerns, and potential improvement opportunities.

• Developing performance audit universes and applying structured prioritization criteria to select high-value and high-risk areas for review.

• Integrating emerging risks, organizational changes, service delivery pressures, technology developments, and major government initiatives into performance audit planning.

Module 4: Developing Audit Objectives, Questions and Criteria

• Translating strategic objectives, policies, legislation, program commitments, and expected results into clear and measurable performance audit objectives.

• Developing audit questions that provide logical pathways for examining economy, efficiency, effectiveness, outcomes, service quality, and implementation performance.

• Establishing robust audit criteria from laws, policies, standards, contracts, benchmarks, professional practices, strategic plans, and approved performance targets.

• Validating audit criteria with appropriate stakeholders while maintaining auditor independence, professional judgment, and clear evidential requirements.

Module 5: Economy Auditing and Resource Utilization

• Evaluating whether financial, human, material, technological, and other resources are acquired at appropriate cost, quality, quantity, timing, and conditions.

• Assessing procurement strategies, purchasing decisions, supplier arrangements, resource allocation, lifecycle costs, and opportunities for reducing unnecessary expenditure.

• Identifying waste, overpayment, unnecessary purchases, excess capacity, inefficient resource deployment, poor contract terms, and avoidable administrative costs.

• Distinguishing legitimate cost increases from uneconomic practices by considering quality requirements, market conditions, service needs, timing, and operational constraints.

Module 6: Efficiency Auditing and Process Performance

• Assessing the relationship between resources used and outputs produced to determine whether processes and activities operate efficiently.

• Examining productivity, cycle times, service delays, bottlenecks, rework, duplication, manual processes, idle capacity, resource utilization, and operational waste.

• Applying process mapping, workflow analysis, benchmarking, trend analysis, workload assessment, and comparative techniques to identify efficiency opportunities.

• Evaluating the contribution of technology, automation, organizational design, workforce capability, management practices, and process controls to operational efficiency.

Module 7: Effectiveness, Outcomes and Program Performance

• Assessing whether government programs, projects, services, and initiatives achieve intended outputs, outcomes, objectives, and public service results.

• Developing outcome-oriented performance measures and evaluating whether reported achievements are supported by reliable, relevant, and sufficient evidence.

• Distinguishing outputs from outcomes and examining whether observed results can reasonably be connected to the activities, interventions, and resources being audited.

• Identifying performance gaps and assessing internal and external factors that may contribute to underachievement, delays, quality problems, or unintended results.

Module 8: Evidence Gathering and Performance Audit Methodology

• Designing evidence-gathering strategies that combine interviews, document review, observation, inspection, surveys, sampling, data analysis, and external information.

• Evaluating evidence for relevance, reliability, completeness, accuracy, consistency, sufficiency, and appropriateness in supporting performance audit conclusions.

• Applying qualitative and quantitative research techniques to understand processes, stakeholder experiences, performance outcomes, implementation barriers, and operational conditions.

• Maintaining clear audit trails linking audit questions, criteria, procedures, evidence, analysis, findings, conclusions, and recommendations.

Module 9: Data Analytics, Benchmarking and Performance Measurement

• Using data analytics to examine performance trends, cost patterns, productivity, service levels, transaction populations, resource utilization, and outcome indicators.

• Developing and evaluating key performance indicators to determine whether they are relevant, measurable, reliable, timely, and aligned with intended objectives.

• Applying benchmarking techniques using historical performance, peer organizations, industry practices, geographic comparisons, standards, targets, and comparable service providers.

• Identifying data quality limitations, inconsistent definitions, missing information, unreliable indicators, and other measurement weaknesses that can affect performance conclusions.

Module 10: Auditing Public Programs, Projects and Service Delivery

• Evaluating government programs and projects from planning through implementation, resource utilization, delivery, monitoring, completion, and achievement of intended results.

• Assessing project governance, milestones, budgets, outputs, benefits realization, implementation risks, contractor performance, and stakeholder outcomes.

• Auditing public service delivery for accessibility, timeliness, quality, responsiveness, coverage, efficiency, user experience, and achievement of service standards.

• Examining complex programs involving multiple agencies, funding sources, contractors, partners, jurisdictions, and interconnected delivery responsibilities.

Module 11: Root Cause Analysis and Performance Improvement

• Applying structured root cause analysis to identify why performance gaps, inefficiencies, delays, cost overruns, service failures, and outcome deficiencies occur.

• Distinguishing immediate symptoms from underlying causes involving governance, planning, processes, controls, resources, capability, technology, incentives, accountability, and organizational culture.

• Testing alternative explanations and corroborating root causes using evidence from interviews, data, documents, observations, benchmarking, and process analysis.

• Developing improvement opportunities that address underlying causes and support sustainable performance gains rather than short-term corrective actions.

Module 12: Value-for-Money in Procurement, Contracts and Outsourcing

• Evaluating whether procurement and contract arrangements achieve appropriate cost, quality, service, risk allocation, performance, and lifecycle value.

• Assessing contract specifications, supplier selection, pricing, contract management, variations, performance measures, payment arrangements, and delivery outcomes.

• Identifying risks involving weak competition, inappropriate specifications, excessive costs, underperformance, contract leakage, ineffective monitoring, and poor benefits realization.

• Assessing value-for-money considerations in outsourcing, public-private partnerships, shared services, and third-party service delivery arrangements.

Module 13: Performance Reporting and Audit Findings

• Developing performance audit findings that clearly connect criteria, actual conditions, evidence, causes, consequences, performance gaps, and improvement opportunities.

• Applying balanced and objective language when reporting underperformance, while distinguishing verified facts, analytical conclusions, stakeholder explanations, and external factors.

• Developing executive summaries, dashboards, visualizations, performance tables, and thematic reports that communicate complex performance information effectively.

• Presenting significant performance issues to management, audit committees, boards, oversight bodies, and other stakeholders in a clear and decision-useful manner.

Module 14: Recommendations, Management Responses and Follow-Up

• Developing practical recommendations that address root causes, improve performance, strengthen accountability, and remain proportionate to identified risks and opportunities.

• Evaluating management responses for clarity, ownership, feasibility, resource implications, measurable actions, implementation timelines, and expected performance improvements.

• Establishing follow-up procedures to determine whether agreed actions have been implemented and whether they have delivered sustainable performance improvements.

• Measuring the impact of implemented recommendations through performance indicators, cost savings, service improvements, process improvements, risk reduction, and outcome changes.

Module 15: Emerging Issues in Performance and Value-for-Money Auditing

• Assessing performance and value-for-money implications of artificial intelligence, automation, digital government, cloud services, data platforms, and technology-enabled public services.

• Evaluating climate-related programs, sustainability initiatives, resilience investments, environmental expenditure, and other emerging areas of public resource allocation.

• Auditing performance risks associated with demographic changes, fiscal pressures, geopolitical uncertainty, workforce transformation, public-private partnerships, and complex supply chains.

• Developing forward-looking performance audit approaches for emerging programs and technologies where traditional indicators, benchmarks, processes, and evidence models may be insufficient.

Module 16: Advanced Performance Audit Strategy and Future-Ready Value-for-Money Assurance

• Integrating economy, efficiency, effectiveness, outcome evaluation, data analytics, benchmarking, root cause analysis, stakeholder engagement, and risk assessment into a mature performance audit methodology.

• Developing strategic performance audit portfolios that align assurance coverage with major public priorities, significant resource commitments, service delivery risks, and opportunities for improvement.

• Establishing performance audit quality and impact measures covering audit coverage, evidence quality, recommendation implementation, financial benefits, operational improvements, and stakeholder value.

• Creating a future-ready performance auditing roadmap that strengthens analytical capability, technology use, evidence quality, public accountability, and sustainable value-for-money assurance.

Training Approach

This course will be delivered by our skilled trainers who have vast knowledge and experience as expert professionals in the fields. The course is taught in English and through a mix of theory, practical activities, group discussion and case studies. Course manuals and additional training materials will be provided to the participants upon completion of the training.

Tailor-Made Course

This course can also be tailor-made to meet organization requirement. For further inquiries, please contact us on: Email: training@upskilldevelopment.com Tel: +254 721 331 808

Training Venue 

The training will be held at our Upskill Training Centre. We also offer training for a group (at a discount of 10% to 50%) at requested location all over the world. The Onsite course fee covers the course tuition, training materials, two break refreshments, buffet lunch, airport transfers, Upskill gift package, and guided tour.

Visa application, travel expenses, dinners, accommodation, insurance, and other personal expenses are catered by the participant

Certification

Participants will be issued with Upskill certificate upon completion of this course.

Airport Pickup and Accommodation

Airport pickup and accommodation is arranged upon request. For booking contact our Training Coordinator through Email: training@upskilldevelopment.com, +254 721 331 808

Terms of Payment:

Unless otherwise agreed between the two parties’ payment of the course fee should be done 3 working days before commencement of the training so as to enable us to prepare better.