Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said he was pleased the two reviews would take place.
He said the work followed a commitment from Police Scotland there would be independent assessment of the decision process around standing firearms authorities.
Mr MacAskill said: “Whilst decisions on the use of resources, including armed police officers, are clearly a matter for the chief constable, it is important there is appropriate oversight to ensure transparency in decision-making and to reassure the public and parliament.
“Armed police officers have been a longstanding feature of policing in Scotland, with a number of the previous forces, Northern Constabulary, Strathclyde and Tayside, all having standing firearms authorities.
“Only 1.6% of the total police officer workforce – some 275 officers out of 17,318 – have standing firearms authority to carry weapons on duty.”
Mr MacAskill said more than 98% of officers across the country were unarmed.
Police Scotland Deputy Chief Constable Iain Livingstone said the force asked HM Inspectorate of Constabulary to carry out an independent assessment of the standing authority decision process.
“As part of this, HMICS will attend the next firearms monitoring group in September where the standing firearms authority will be reviewed,” he added.
“If a decision is made that the authority should remain in place, we will commission further work to consider alternative options for the carrying of weapons by armed officers.
“Police Scotland will also review the operational guidance provided to officers regarding the functions they perform when not engaged in firearms duties and consider how we may improve our engagement with communities.”
Mr Livingstone said the police existed to keep people safe against all potential threats.
“The differences in specialist firearms protection to communities and unarmed officers prior to Police Scotland was unacceptable and inequitable,” he added.
“By having a small number of specially trained firearms officers available 24/7, we can ensure that all communities have equal access to this specialist police capability.
“We look forward to considering any recommendations that come from the reviews announced today.”