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Qualitative and Quantitative Validation of Tools with Rating Scales Aimed at Assessing the Quality of University Service-Learning
Published on: August 29, 2025
Independent evaluation: insights from public accounting
Abigail B Brown1, Jacob Alex Klerman
1Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA. abrown@ethics.harvard.edu
Evaluation Review
|June 20, 2012
Summary
Ensuring independent government program evaluation requires strategies to prevent conflicts of interest. Parallels with financial auditing reforms, like the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, can improve evaluator independence and timely reporting.
Area of Science:
- Public Administration
- Program Evaluation
- Contracting and Procurement
Background:
- Contracting for government program evaluation faces challenges in maintaining independence.
- Agencies desire both the appearance of independence and favorable evaluation outcomes.
- This mirrors financial statement audits where management seeks attestation while controlling accounting methods.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review contracting strategies for maintaining independence in auditing.
- To examine the effectiveness of professionalism, reputation, liability, and owner oversight in auditing.
- To apply these insights to improve evaluator independence in government program evaluations.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of auditing independence strategies.
- Analysis of factors constraining auditor behavior.
- Comparative analysis between auditing and program evaluation contracting.
Main Results:
- Auditing independence is influenced by professionalism, reputation, liability, and oversight.
- Parallels exist between auditing and evaluation contracting regarding conflicts of interest.
- Existing auditing reforms offer potential models for enhancing evaluation independence.
Conclusions:
- Recommendations are drawn by analogy with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
- A reformulated Technical Working Group could promote timely evaluation release.
- This group may help insulate evaluators from undue pressure to alter findings or methods.
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