Audit of effectiveness of the government support of territorial clusters: drivers of economic growth

The article considers the audit of effectiveness as a management system element of the government participation in the formation and development of territorial clusters -- drivers of economic growth. Clusters' support activities are implemented through the government programs. Cluster development and budgetary resources allocation are under the jurisdiction of various federal ministries. However, currently, the issues of evaluating an effectiveness of using the public resources to support the development of territorial clusters are not properly studied that predetermines the relevance of the research topic. The purpose of the study is to improve the theoretical and methodological foundations of the audit of effectiveness and clarify its role in the management system of territorial clusters in the context of digitalization of information databases. The subject of the study is the process of providing government support measures for cluster formations and auditing the effectiveness of their use for managerial decisions. The study is based on strategic planning documents, reports on the implementation of the government programs, the federal budget, and Rosstat for 2008-2018, reports of the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation on the results of control measures posted on the portal of public and municipal financial audits. The theoretical and methodological basis of the study consists of the works of the leading Russian and foreign scientists in the field of clusters, organizing an audit of effectiveness of using public resources, and standards of government auditing. The research methodology is based on the systems approach used in studying audit of effectiveness as a part of the economy's clustering process management system. According to the results of the study, conclusions are presented on the further development of the cluster-network model of economic development, increasing the role of the audit of effectiveness of government support for territorial clusters as drivers of economic growth.