FROM LEGALITY TO EFFECTIVENESS: CONSENSUALITY AND THE IEG-M AS INSTRUMENTS FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF PUBLIC OVERSIGHT EXERCISED BY AUDIT COURTS

Abstract

Brazilian public control has evolved from a bureaucratic and sanction-oriented model, centered on the verification of legality and cost-effectiveness, to an approach oriented toward effectiveness and institutional cooperation. In the context of managerial public administration, focused on results and efficiency, the Courts of Accounts assume an essential role in the fulfillment of their social function and in the promotion of the fundamental principle of good administration. This study analyzes how the Municipal Management Effectiveness Index (IEG-M) and practices of consensuality are configured as complementary and indispensable instruments for the improvement of public control. The research, of a descriptive and documentary nature, is based on legislation, legal doctrine, and decisions of Courts of Accounts. It is verified that the IEG-M and consensual mechanisms have been disseminated as instruments for guiding public managers and inducing good practices, allowing external control to exercise a pedagogical and collaborative function, beyond a punitive logic. It is concluded that, in light of the theoretical contributions of Gustavo Binenbojm and Bruno Dantas, according to which contemporary external control demands a subtle balance between rigorous oversight and the preservation of administrative autonomy, the articulation between the IEG-M and mechanisms of consensuality presents potential to contribute to public control practices oriented toward results, good governance, and the effectiveness of public policies.