INTERNAL CONTROL: THEIR USE THROUGH MUNICIPALITIES IN THE WEST OF SANTA CATARINA

Abstract

The obligation in the majority of cases to place internal controls in public organs is a recent one and their effects still need to be studied. The objective of this article is to analyse the use of internal control as management instrument in municipal councils, in a way which contributes toward transparency and integrity in acts committed in public administration. This exploratory research was conducted through interviews with accountants and internal control agents of twenty municipalities in the west of Santa Catarina. The principal findings that the research revealed indicated difficulties in the implantation of the referred internal control systems. It was also observed that the majority of municipalities studied adopted internal control systems through legal requirements rather than as a spontaneous decision to aid management. It was concluded that internal controls represent a worrying aspect for public administrators in the sense of assuring that resources are obtained and applied with their corresponding accounts returned.