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ACCA Strategic Professional · Advanced Audit and Assurance (International) · The audit of performance information (pre-determined objectives) in the public sector

A state water utility has the objective 'ensure safe drinking water'. Its indicator is 'percentage of samples meeting national quality standards'. The auditor finds the indicator does not state how many samples are taken, from which sites, or how often. Which suitability criterion is MOST clearly deficient?

Completeness is the clearest deficiency. Without the number, location and frequency of samples, users cannot judge how representative the percentage is, so relevant factors that could affect their conclusions are missing. The indicator itself is still relevant to the objective of safe drinking water.

  1. ACompleteness, because the omitted sampling details could affect users' conclusions about performanceCorrect
  2. BNeutrality, because percentages are always biased
  3. CUnderstandability, because national standards are not published
  4. DRelevance, because water quality has no link to safe drinking water

Explanation

Omitting sample size, sites and frequency leaves out factors that could affect users' conclusions, so the criteria are incomplete. Water quality is clearly relevant, and percentages are not inherently biased.

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