Corruption and internal control in public institutions of Latin America: An existing relationship?

Abstract

The implementation of internal control in public institutions in Latin America, specifically in Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Uruguay and Venezuela, has not had a significant impact on the corruption perception index issued by Transparency International for the period 2018-2023. A review of the current state of knowledge was conducted, finding that the legislation of the studied countries determines that comptroller areas are responsible for internal control; likewise, the control model used in all of these countries is the one proposed by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). The purpose of the research was to describe and reflect on the internal control models used in the public institutions of the Latin American countries studied and to seek the possible relationship with the corruption perception index. For the development of the research, a sample was obtained using STATS 2.0 software, with a 10% error margin and a 95% confidence level. From the nineteen countries that make up the Latin American region, nine were selected, using as an analysis method the documentary review of current legislation, as well as the results obtained by Transparency International. As the main result, it was determined that there is no direct relationship between the internal control model implemented by the public institutions of the countries studied and the perception of corruption.