Public companies have emerged as a reflection of the needs of the modern industrial and urban society for the continuous performance of a range of activities and services, without which the everyday functioning of the economy would be impossible. The public interest related to the operation of public companies remains to the present. The effective operation of public enterprises is of great importance for the overall economy, and it can be a driver of positive change in society. If the public enterprises are stable, then it can be a mechanism for stabilisation of the public sector, reduction of unemployment, promotion of positive changes and policies, and ultimately improvement of the life standard. The role of state audit is extremely important in public companies because it indicates problems that diminish the effectiveness of their operations, increase the transparency of the public sector and affect the creation of added value for the users of public companies. The paper discusses the performance audit as one of the recent types of state auditing that can increase the efficiency and effectiveness of public companies, if conducted frequently. However, there are limiting factors that affect the frequency of that type of audit in our region. The major obstacle is the lack of resources, in terms of financial support and trained personnel. In fact, the implementation of performance audit requires extensive knowledge from the auditor; along with knowledge of audit and economic terms, the auditor must be familiar with the area of energy, health, engineering and other disciplines, and must be extremely well prepared for the area in which the audit is to be conducted, which requires constant education and increased financial resources. This paper analyses the business framework of public enterprises, services of general economic interest and the role that state auditors have in the context of increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of these enterprises. The goal of performance audit is to assess whether used resources represent the most economical use of public funds, whether the use of available resources in a timely manner provides the best services, whether it meets the strategic objectives, and whether there is an impact on the implementation of these objectives. ...