THEORETICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF THE INTERNAL AUDIT OF RECEIVABLES AND PAYABLES IN BUDGET ORGANIZATIONS

Abstract

The article develops a theoretical and methodological framework for the internal audit of receivables and payables in budget (public sector) organizations. The author argues that in the public sector these categories cannot be interpreted through the logic of commercial capital circulation: a receivable represents a temporary immobilisation of budget resources, while a payable is, in the typical case, the accounting trace of an obligation assumed in excess of an approved appropriation limit. Consequently, the audit objective shifts from the fair presentation of balances towards the legality, economy and controllability of the obligation cycle. Drawing on the COSO Internal Control - Integrated Framework, the IIA professional framework, INTOSAI public sector guidance and the accrual-based IPSAS model, a three-level methodological construct is proposed: the conceptual level (object, subject, purpose, principles), the organisational-institutional level (mandate, independence, three lines model) and the procedural-instrumental level (risk assessment, materiality, assertion-mapped procedures, key risk indicators). The study concludes that the transition from a compliance-verification model to a risk-based assurance model constitutes the central methodological problem of internal audit in the budget sphere.