The Management Adjustment Term Through the Lens of Responsive Regulation Theory

Comparing Internal and External Control Systems

Resumen

[Purpose] The article aims to analyze the management adjustment agreement as an instrument available for Brazilian Public Administration control from the perspective of responsive regulation theory. The recent implementation of the management adjustment agreement by the Office of the Comptroller General (CGU), through CGU Normative Ordinance No. 186/2024, represents the placement of a consensual instrument at the disposal of internal control. Several Courts of Accounts also make use of this instrument. Based on the assumptions of responsive regulation theory, the configuration given to the instruments within the scope of internal and external control is compared. The analysis highlights the transition from classical Administrative Law, characterized by strict legality and formalism, to a model that incorporates consensual instruments and values efficiency. This evolution represents not only an instrumental change but a true paradigmatic transformation in how internal control is exercised at the federal level. By analyzing Public Administration control in terms of a regulatory modeling, it also seeks to give a responsive function to the consensual instruments under analysis. [Methodology/approach/design] The research adopts a qualitative nature, based on documentary analysis and literature review to examine how the adoption of the management adjustment agreement by Public Administration control aligns with the assumptions of responsive regulation theory. Based on the rules that established the management adjustment agreement within the scope of internal and external control of Public Administration, a comparison of the instruments is made in light of responsive regulation theory, applying its assumptions to give a responsive function to the instruments.

[Findings] The management adjustment agreement offers an intermediate alternative between mere guidance and traditional administrative sanctions. This approach is considered to promote greater effectiveness in internal control while strengthening the legitimacy of administrative action through dialogue and consensual construction of solutions. From the adoption of the responsive regulation enforcement pyramid, it is found that, in internal control, the management adjustment agreement is at a different level from that occupied by the instrument as practiced by external control.

[Practical implications] The study demonstrates how control, when understood as a regulatory activity exercised over Public Administration, can benefit from the developments of responsive regulation theory to increase its effectiveness.

[Originality/value] The debate on the scope, definitions, and limits of the management adjustment agreement within the Federal Public Administration's internal control is relevant due to the very recent publication of the regulation that governs it within the Office of the Comptroller General (CGU). This regulatory instrument is designed to provide preventive support to public managers, aiming to enhance public administration, increase transparency, and promote both public and private integrity. The article's originality is further evidenced by analyzing this instrument through the lens of responsive regulation theory. Finally, it seeks to offer practical contributions for the effective implementation of this Consensual Administrative Law instrument.