Abstract:

Metropolitan municipalities are the leading local administrations that provide numerous local joint services to a significant portion of the population in Turkey, coordinate among the lower-level district municipalities, and supervise these administrations on certain matters. Considering both the numerical multiplicity of the services offered by the metropolitan municipalities, which has been established as a new tutelage authority at the local level, and the geographical region in which these services are provided, and therefore the budgetary size, the necessity of effectively supervising of the metropolitan municipalities has emerged. While external auditing focuses on limited time and certain issues, internal audit units are continuous and can focus on all processes of the administration in terms of scope, and it has become more significant within the context of the said auditing. Currently, metropolitan municipalities are subjected to internal auditing through internal auditors and municipal inspectors. However, depending on the metropolitan mayor's election for a certain period, as well as the legislation and supervisory motivations on which both audit units are based, expectations from inspection differ. Hence, certain issues are encountered within the hierarchical sequence regarding the effectiveness of internal auditing and the expectations from it. The study aims to determine the effectiveness of internal auditing and inspection boards in metropolitan municipalities. For this purpose, a questionnaire, which is the primary data collection method, has been applied to the internal auditors and inspectors working in metropolitan municipalities, and the issues encountered in the activities of the internal audit and inspection boards have been determined. In addition, the relationships between audit units and the mayors have been examined, and suggestions have been provided to establish more effective, economical, and efficient supervision.

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