Corruption Risks in Public Administration – Methodology and Empirical Experiences

Abstract

The article summarises the experiences of the research conducted at the Research Institute of the State Audit Office of Hungary in order to adapt the – integrity reinforcement based – Dutch methodology of risk analysis to public administration. This paper contains the results of a questionnaire survey as well as two experimental self-assessments carried out by the ministries. Furthermore, it describes that first and foremost it is the legal and permit procedures that represent a significant corruption risk, and that complexity, frequently changing legislation and political influence all increase corruption risk. Comparing the results of the sur-vey and self-assessments with the empirical experiences of the State Audit Office of Hungary stemming from audits and pertaining to the causes of corruption, it is determined in the article that results and experiences are similar. The article, therefore, recommends that risk mapping be applied to a wider section of the public sector, the conditions for self-assessment be established, and the integrity approach be enforced more thoroughly within auditing methodology.