RETROSPECTIVE AND TOPICALITY REGARDING THE INSTITUTIONAL ORGANIZATION AND THE ROLE OF THE EXTERNAL PUBLIC AUDIT IN ROMANIA

The research objectives aim at analyzing the institutional organization evolution of the public sector resources management supervising function, as well as the development and role of the external public audit in Romania. Although the external public audit has a quite short history in Romania, related to the country's accession to the European Union and the requirements that had to be met, our research horizon is much wider, being delimited by the institutional history, for over 150 years, of the supervising function of the public sector resources use. Thus, the research also addresses the financial control, as a precursor to the external public audit. The research methodology is qualitative and interpretive. Following the research horizon, the institutional history, the evolution and the role of the external public audit in Romania are addressed by reviewing the relevant literature, the normative (constitutional and regulatory) framework, as well as the publications portfolio of the Romanian Court of Accounts. The research is useful and relevant as it offers a panoramic image on this important activity in the public funds management and reveals the historical landmarks, which generated significant transformations in the field