Joint audit report Implementation of the Operational Programme Cross-Border Cooperation Republic of Poland – Slovak Republic 2007–2013

Report ID: 341

On 20 December 2007 the European Commission, by means of the decision No C (2007) 6534, approved the Programme. It received support from the European Community by means of the European Regional Development Fund resources for particular borderland areas on the Polish and Slovak sides of the border. The support area of the Programme in Poland included among others: the so called Krosno-Przemyśl subregion and in Slovakia Prešovský Kraj and Žilinský Kraj. Additionally, on the Polish side among others poviat Rzeszów and township Rzeszów were also added to the Programme and could participate in the projects as adjacent areas.

The audit of the Programme was undertaken on the basis of a cooperation agreement concluded on 18 February 1998 between the Supreme Audit Office of Poland (NIK) and the Supreme Audit Office of Slovakia (NKU) – as a result of the joint initiative of NIK Regional Branch in Rzeszów and NKU Expozitur: in Košice and Prešov. The audits were conducted in the periods: November 2009–August 2010 and September 2012–May 2013.

The aim of the audit was to assess the regularity with which and extent to which the Polish and Slovak entities have executed the priorities and goals of the Operational Programme Cross-Border Cooperation Republic of Poland – Slovak Republic 2007–2013,  in particular:
− the effectiveness of the joint organisational structure established in both countries for the
management, implementation and audit of the Programme;
− the execution of particular projects (subjects) within the I and II priority axes of the Programme by the beneficiaries with regard to legality, regularity and economy;
− the achievement of operational goals specified for the particular priority axes.

The axes set were:

I. Development of cross-border infrastructure;

II. Social and economic development;

III. Support of local initiatives (microprojects) and

IV. Technical assistance, in compliance with the partnership obligation.

Source: https://www.nku.gov.sk/documents/10272/1542112/2014+-+Trains+border+cooperation.pdf

Auditing European added value — a case study based on a joint audit of the Rail Baltica project

Report ID: 354

Based on the input from the audit teams from the Supreme Audit Institutions of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia that participated in the Cooperative Audit to the Implementation of the Rail Baltica Projec, Urmet Lee, Director, and Jüri Kurss, Senior Advisor, officers from th  e National Audit Office of Estonia prepared a case study. In the case study the author  share their experiences of applying the EU added value (EAV)concept, a posteriori, to the joint audit.

For the purpose of their article, they decided to look into the question of whether the information gathered and the findings determined in the course of the joint audit of the Rail Baltica project would allow identification of the extent to which EAV has been /is being created or (possibly even unintentionally) jeopardised. They conducted a small case study and carried out a set of written interviews in August 2020 with the RBTF audit team leaders of the three Baltic SAIs. 

Find attached the case study published in the ECA Journal (Source: https://medium.com/ecajournal/auditing-european-added-value-a-case-study-based-on-a-joint-audit-of-the-rail-baltica-project-561788f0ea35)

To know the experience of the cooperative audit to the Rail Baltica project read the joint report in this catalogue: https://intosai-cooperativeaudits.org/catalog/report/implementation-of-the-rail-baltica-project-cooperative-audit

Joint Report on the Results of the International Coordinated Audit on the Prevention and Consequences Elimination of Floods

Report ID: 356

The International Coordinated Audit on the Prevention and Consequences Elimination of Floods was carried out in the framework of the EUROSAI Working Group on the Audit of Funds Allocated to Disasters and Catastrophes. The SAIs of of Belarus, Georgia, Poland, Serbia, Turkey, Ukraine (audit coordinator) and the European Court of Auditors participated in the audit.

The purpose of the audit was the assessment of the establishment by national bodies of the response mechanisms in case of floods and the timeliness of such actions, the effectiveness of the flood risk management system and the reduction of the harmful impact of floods, the economy and legality of using the allocated budget funds for the above purpose.

Participants of the international coordinated audit unanimously state that in the process of managing natural disasters, the amount of money invested in reducing the risk of a catastrophe is the most cost-effective, as proper prevention and preparedness measures can significantly reduce the adverse impact of natural disasters.

The international coordinated audit highlighted, that in the countries of participating SAIs and at EU level (according to the findings of the European Court of Auditors):

✓ legal and organizational frameworks for flood protection planning and management have been established, however there is a need to further finalizing the programming documents, specification of the developed policies, strengthening coordination between the competent authorities, as well as strict adherence to the requirements of European and national legislation;

 ✓ a system of flood risk management based on the basin principle was introduced and regional bodies of river basin management were established, but integrated flood risk management was not provided in national and cross-border river basins;

✓ measures aimed at flood protection have not been implemented effectively, in particular due to late decision-making;

 ✓ approaches to financing flood measures are imperfect, do not provide the need for funds as most of SAIs-participants noted, and flood risk management plans sent to the European Commission do not always identify the source of funds, as ECA reported;

 ✓ there is a need to improve forecasting of future flood risk.

The study of this problem resulted in elaboration of key recommendations to the governments and responsible bodies of the countries.

Participants of the international coordinated audit share the provisions of the INTOSAI Guidance GUID 9000 “Cooperative Audits between SAIs” and identify a decisive factor in cooperative efforts to find a common solution for a specific audit topic, as their countries have similar interests in sphere of flood prevention and its consequences elimination.

Source: EUROSAI Database of Audits - https://www.eurosai.org/en/databases/audits/Joint-Report-on-the-Results-of-the-International-Coordinated-Audit-on-the-Prevention-and-Consequences-Elimination-of-Floods/

Joint Report on the Results of the International Audit on Waste Management and Utilization

Report ID: 366

The International Coordinated Audit on Waste Management and Utilization was conducted in the framework of the EUROSAI Working Group on the Audit of Funds Allocated to Disasters and Catastrophes. The purposes of the national audits – were to assess the state and efficiency of the waste management system in the countries participants of the audit.

The Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) of Moldova, Serbia and Ukraine participated in the audit. The SAI of Ukraine was the audit coordinator, The aim of national audits was to assess the state and effectiveness of the waste management system in countries of SAIs– participants of the international audit. The scope of the audit comprised from 2015-2018.

The results of the national audits conducted in the field of household, industrial and other hazardous waste, which can pose a serious threat to human health and the environment, as well as lead to environmental and man-made disasters, showed: for those countries, whose SAIs participated in the audit, common inconsistencies/gaps and problems within existing waste management systems

The results of the cooperative audit indicate the need to strengthen the governments’ efforts to move from the existing linear economy to a circular economy based on the maximum processing of waste generated in the territories of countries as well as the creation of an integrated waste management system in accordance with the EU “waste management hierarchy” in order to reduce the negative impact on the environment, public health and prevent the occurrence of environmental and man-made disasters.

Fuente:  EUROSAI Database of Audits -  https://www.eurosai.org/en/databases/audits/Joint-Report-on-the-Results-of-the-International-Audit-on-Waste-Management-and-Utilization/

Amazon biome protected areas - Coordinated Audit Executive summary

Report ID: 375

Protected areas (Pas) are part of a worldwide strategy for biodiversity conservation. Inside PAS there are water springs, mineral deposits, wood logs, latex, nuts and other natural resources with economic, social and environmental value. Pas are protected spaces due to relevant natural characteristics, being instituted by public authority considering that they are an important part of the environmental heritage.

Between 2012 and 2013, the Federal Court of Accounts of Brazil (TCU) and the nine state Courts of Audit in the Brazilian Amazon ( Acre, Amazonas, Amapa, Maranhão, Mato Grosso, Para, Rondonia, Roraima and Tocatins) carried out a coordinated audit to asses all the federal and state protected areas in the Amazon biome. The audit allowed the oversight bodies to work in an integrated way to obtain a systemic assessment of the 247 protected areas in that biome, 107 being federal and 140 state level.

Due to the relevance of the Amazon region, the audit assessed to what degree the normative, institutional and operational conditions are sufficient for the Pas achieve their goals.

To assess the Pas in the Brazilian Amazon, TCU created the Protected Areas Implementation and Management Index (Indimapa), an instrument to evaluate, communicate and monitor PA, through geo-referenced maps. The instrument classifies Pas in three levels: red, yellow and green, using 14 indicators.

Based on this analysis, the audit verified that only 4% of the federal and state Pas in the Brazilian Amazon are considered to have a high degree of implementation and management, the necessary level to the complete fulfillment of its objectives.

Finally, it was observed that the creation and maintenance of PA offer important benefits like the contribution to deforestation control and the reduction of carbon emissions. However, these areas have objectives that go further than conservation. Other activities are also part of their objectives like: visitation, tourism, research, sustainable logging, etc. These activities depend on management efficiency to be developed, which requires actions that go beyond the creation of Pas.

Source: https://portal.tcu.gov.br/biblioteca-digital/auditoria-coordenada-em-unidades-de-conservacao-da-amazonia.htm