Public Sector Audit Effectiveness: A Critical Review of Ghana’s Surcharge and Disallwance Regime

The study used PRISMA-guided systematic review of studies on the subject of public audit systems with particular reference to surcharge and disallowance systems in various nations. It makes inferences that can inform institutional and legal changes in the public sector of countries especially whether audit accountability can be enhanced by way of enforcement, independence and integration with governance frameworks. According to 37 peer-reviewed publications between 2020 and 2025, six main themes were established: statutory authority, audit structures of enforcement, the effectiveness of audits, the independence of oversight bodies, the confidence of people and the correlation of audit results and fiscal governance. Other countries such as South Africa, Kenya and United Kingdom have adopted legally binding audit framework with coordinated implementation, which leads to more effective accountability. Conversely, the system in Ghana, though constitutionally based, has its fair share of challenges by virtue of lapses in enforcement as well as political interference. Results show that Ghana should enhance the power of the Auditor-General, harmonize audit standards between different jurisdictions, encourage collaboration among institutions, and scale up audits to cover the performance measures. Credibility and compliance can also be increased by improving public access to the findings of the audits. The present study has original value due to the fact that it dwells on the enforcement aspect of the public audits, which receive insufficient attention. It draws upon the cross-national experiences and summarizes them into practical reforms that are applicable in the Ghanaian context, providing a solid background to continue research and formulate policies.