The Role of Auditors’ Competency in Public Expenditure Management the case of Ethiopia’s Ministry of Finance and Public Procurement and Property Administration Agency

The general objective of the study was to assess the role of auditors’ competency in public expenditure management as evidenced by the Ethiopian ministry of finance (MOF) and public procurement and property administration agency (PPPAA). The study used a mixed-methods approach to collect qualitative and quantitative data using questionnaires and document analysis. The respondents for the surveys were chosen using multistage sampling techniques. Quantitative data were analyzed using multiple regressions on five-point Likert scaled items using SPSS and Process Macro, and the Andrew F. Hayes (2022) mediation analysis technique, while qualitative data was analyzed thematically. The result revealed that auditors’ competency has a significant direct effect on the mediating variable audit quality and the dependent variable public expenditure management and has a significant indirect effect through the mediating variable on public expenditure management. The study established that auditors’ competency has a deterrent effect on the parties involved in the expenditure management areas to work in line with legal frameworks. The ministry and the agency should work hard to enhance the competency of auditors through on-the-job and off-the-job training so that they can improve their public expenditure management.