Thai Local Government Auditing Process: Lessons Learned from the Kalasin and Bua Khao Town Municipalities

Abstract

This research studies problems uncovered in the voluntary auditing process in the Kalasin and Bua Khao Town Municipalities. The authors purposively selected a qualitative research case study method to gather their evidence, engaging as the main instrument, a semi-structured interview. The findings indicate that, although both municipalities revealed a “don’t know, don’t dare and don’t care” attitude, it was clearly seen that the Bua Khao Town Municipality had a more serious problem than the Kalasin Town Municipality. Specifically, the community leaders or community committee members did not sufficiently understand the roles that they could play in the auditing process. This ignorance was the chief cause for them not to dare to participate, resulting in their not being able to perceive what participation might be. Subsequently, the research results indicate that providing a workshop or educating key personnel about participation in the auditing process could be crucial to convince municipal leaders to participate and play their role in the auditing process of local government. The findings also demonstrate that very likely personnel would not care at the end of a process about which they lacked knowledge and did not dare to participate. Such a lack would be a formidable obstacle for building strong citizenship or the citizen sector.