Parallel Audit on reading literacy in Austria and in Slovenia

Report ID: 333

In 2019 the Austrian Court of Audit (SAI Austria) and the Court of Audit of the Republic of Slovenia (SAI Slovenia) agreed to engage in a joint project focusing on reading literacy in children in Austria and Slovenia in the period from 2014 to 2018. For this purpose they decided to carry out a parallel performance audit, based on a set of common reference points.

Both Austria and Slovenia pledged to ensure that all youth achieve literacy by 2030 within the scope of the UN sustainable development goal 4 as a necessary skill for the development of all other forms of literacy, such as functional literacy, digital literacy, scientific literacy, technological literacy and academic literacy, to name a few, reading literacy is crucial for the personal and individual empowerment of each individual. It enables active participation of the individual in all areas of life and significantly improves the choices and possibilities for one's wellbeing and economic independence.

Both supreme audit institutions chose PISA study, the OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment, intended to evaluate educational systems by measuring 15-year-old school pupils' scholastic performance on mathematics, science, and reading as a reference point of the joint project. Both countries have been participating in the study for many years and the majority of the children in both countries reach the age of 15 years upon completion of compulsory primary education programmes. Thereby the results of the study offer valuable information and insights not only on the children's achievements but also on the role, impact and efficiency of the national education systems and policies in developing reading literacy in children.

Approaches for the audit

The  Sai of Austria looked closely at the promotion of reading skills in primary and lower secondary schools in the school years 2014/15 to 2017/18.  The audited entities were the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research, the provincial school boards/education directorates of Lower Austria and Salzburg and the provinces of Lower Austria and Salzburg. The audit was aimed at presenting the development of the reading proficiency of children as well as assessing the objectives and provisions with regard to the reading literacy of Austrian children, the organizational implementation of the promotion of reading skills in schools as well as measures and resources used to increase reading literacy.

The SAI of Austria addressed the lack of a comprehensive strategy on the improvement of reading literacy in primary schools and lower secondary schools and sees considerable room for improvement with regard to the promotion of reading skills in schools.

The  Sai of Slovenia chose a system-based approach to identify the factors and their impact on developing reading literacy in children in Slovenia in the period from 2014 to 2018.  The audited entities were the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport, the Ministry of Culture, the National Education Institute Slovenia and the Slovenian Book Agency. The audit was aimed to assess whether the goals and activities for developing reading literacy in children were designed and planned adequately, and whether these activities were performed efficiently. The Court of Audit expressed an opinion that the auditees have been efficient in part in designing, planning and performing activities for developing reading literacy in children and issued several recommendations to improve the operations in the future.

Detailed information on audits and both audit reports are available at both SAIs websites. This was a parallel audit without a joint report but with a joint press release taken as basis for this abstract to provide the context and methodology of the audit.

Source: http://www.rs-rs.si/fileadmin/user_upload/Datoteke/Revizije/2020/Bralna-pismenost/EN/Reading_Literacy-Press_Release.pdf

Parallele Prüfung der Lesekompetenz in Österreich und Slowenien

Report ID: 334

Im Jahr 2019 vereinbarten der österreichische Rechnungshof (ORKB Österreich) und der Rechnungshof der Republik Slowenien (ORKB Slowenien) ein gemeinsames Projekt zur Lesekompetenz von Kindern in Österreich und Slowenien im Zeitraum von 2014 bis 2018. Zu diesem Zweck beschlossen sie, eine parallele Wirtschaftlichkeitsprüfung durchzuführen, die auf einer Reihe gemeinsamer Referenzpunkte basiert.

Sowohl Österreich als auch Slowenien verpflichteten sich, dafür zu sorgen, dass alle Jugendlichen bis 2030 im Rahmen des UNO-Ziels 4 der nachhaltigen Entwicklung Lese- und Schreibkenntnisse erwerben, da diese für die Entwicklung aller anderen Formen der Alphabetisierung, wie funktionale Alphabetisierung, digitale Alphabetisierung, wissenschaftliche Alphabetisierung, technologische Alphabetisierung und akademische Alphabetisierung, um nur einige zu nennen, notwendig sind. Sie ermöglicht die aktive Teilhabe des Einzelnen in allen Lebensbereichen und verbessert die Wahlmöglichkeiten und Chancen für das eigene Wohlbefinden und die wirtschaftliche Unabhängigkeit erheblich.

Beide Obersten Rechnungskontrollbehörden wählten die PISA-Studie, das Programm der OECD zur internationalen Bewertung von Schülerinnen und Schülern, das die Bildungssysteme durch Messung der schulischen Leistungen 15-jähriger Schülerinnen und Schüler in den Bereichen Mathematik, Naturwissenschaften und Lesen bewerten soll, als Bezugspunkt des gemeinsamen Projekts. Beide Länder nehmen seit vielen Jahren an der Studie teil, und die Mehrheit der Kinder in beiden Ländern erreicht nach Abschluss der obligatorischen Grundschulausbildung das Alter von 15 Jahren. Dadurch bieten die Ergebnisse der Studie wertvolle Informationen und Einblicke nicht nur in die Leistungen der Kinder, sondern auch in die Rolle, Wirkung und Effizienz der nationalen Bildungssysteme und -politiken bei der Entwicklung der Lesekompetenz von Kindern.

Ansätze für die Prüfung

Die Sai von Österreich befasste sich eingehend mit der Förderung der Lesefähigkeiten in Grund- und Hauptschulen in den Schuljahren 2014/15 bis 2017/18.  Die geprüften Stellen waren das Bundesministerium für Bildung, Wissenschaft und Forschung, die Landesschulräte/Bildungsdirektionen von Niederösterreich und Salzburg sowie die Länder Niederösterreich und Salzburg. Ziel des Audits war die Darstellung der Entwicklung der Lesekompetenz von Kindern sowie die Beurteilung der Ziele und Maßnahmen im Hinblick auf die Lesekompetenz österreichischer Kinder, die organisatorische Umsetzung der Leseförderung in den Schulen sowie Maßnahmen und Ressourcen zur Steigerung der Lesekompetenz.

Die ORKB Österreichs befasste sich mit dem Fehlen einer umfassenden Strategie zur Verbesserung der Lesekompetenz in Grundschulen und Schulen der unteren Sekundarstufe und sieht erhebliches Verbesserungspotential in Bezug auf die Förderung der Lesekompetenz in Schulen.

Die Sai von Slowenien wählte einen systembasierten Ansatz, um die Faktoren und ihre Auswirkungen auf die Entwicklung der Lesekompetenz bei Kindern in Slowenien im Zeitraum von 2014 bis 2018 zu ermitteln.  Die geprüften Stellen waren das Ministerium für Bildung, Wissenschaft und Sport, das Kulturministerium, das Nationale Bildungsinstitut Sloweniens und die Slowenische Buchagentur. Ziel der Prüfung war es zu beurteilen, ob die Ziele und Aktivitäten zur Entwicklung der Lesekompetenz bei Kindern angemessen konzipiert und geplant wurden und ob diese Aktivitäten effizient durchgeführt wurden. Der Rechnungshof vertrat die Ansicht, dass die geprüften Stellen bei der Konzeption, Planung und Durchführung der Aktivitäten zur Entwicklung der Lesekompetenz bei Kindern teilweise effizient waren, und gab mehrere Empfehlungen zur Verbesserung der Abläufe in der Zukunft ab.

Ausführliche Informationen zu den Prüfungen und beide Prüfungsberichte sind auf den Websites beider ORKBn verfügbar. Es handelte sich um eine Parallelprüfung ohne gemeinsamen Bericht, aber mit einer gemeinsamen Presse

Quelle : https://www.rechnungshof.gv.at/rh/home/news/Reading_.html

Preparation for resolution of medium-sized and small banks in the EURO area - Results of a parallel audit of Supreme Audit Institutions on banking resolution

Report ID: 339

In 2012, the European Union (EU) decided to set up a European Banking Union for the euro area. The Banking Union is responsible to ensure that the EU rules for supervision and resolution are implemented effectively and consistently across the euro area and in other participating countries.

In December 2017, a group of national Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) united in the Task Force on European Banking Union published a report on national supervision on medium-sized and smaller banks – or “Less Significant Institutions” (LSIs4) – under the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM). This report is available at:

https://intosai-cooperativeaudits.org/catalog/report/report-of-the-task-force-on-european-banking-union-on-prudential-supervision-of-medium-sized-and-small-less-significant-institutions-in-the-european-union-after-the-introduction-of-the-single-supervisory-mechanism

In 2018, the Contact Committee of the heads of Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) in the EU mandated a group of SAIs united in the Task Force Banking Union to initiate a parallel audit on the functioning of the Single Resolution Mechanism (SRM) in the preparatory activities for the resolution of medium-sized and small banks – or Less Significant Institutions (LSIs) – under the remit of the National Resolution Authorities (NRAs)  in selected countries in the euro area.

The report is aimed to provide insight into the way the Single Resolution Mechanism (SRM) is set up and carried out for LSIs in different euro area countries, and what potential risks are involved. In addition, the second aim is to identify to what extent SAIs are actually able to exercise their audit mandates and obtain full access to documents required.

The scope of this parallel audit is restricted to resolution planning for medium-sized and small banks. Three research questions were devised for this audit:

1. Are NRAs adequately equipped and prepared to carry out the resolution task regarding medium-sized and small banks?

2. How is the preparation for resolution activities regarding medium-sized and small banks being carried out in practice by the NRAs?

3. Do SAIs face any barriers in auditing banking resolution and obtaining access to relevant documents?

4. How do Ministers of Finance comply with their responsibilities for the functioning of the resolution mechanism? Do they comply with them adequately in practice, including accountability to parliament?

Source:https://www.eca.europa.eu/sites/cc/Lists/CCDocuments/Task_Force_EBU_2020/Task_Force_EBU_2020_EN.pdf

Joint Report on the Results of Parallel Audits of Excise Duty Administration in the Slovak Republic and in the Czech Republic (in Czech)

Report ID: 404

Legislation in the Czech Republic and in Slovakia on excise duty and its administration complies with EU legislation and exceeds EU requirements substantially. Differences have been discovered between Slovak and Czech excise duty regulations: in the Czech Republic, verification of the economic stability of applicants for permits and mandatory labelling and dyeing of several mineral and some other oils contribute to effective excise duty administration; in Slovakia, the distribution of excise stamps is simpler than in the Czech Republic and less of a burden on excise duty administrators. In the fight against excise duty evasion, supervising the movement of raw tobacco or tobacco materials, the implementation of the institute of a transport fuel distributor, and keeping a registry of merchants of consumer packaged alcohol appear to be a good practice in the fight against excise duty evasion. Excise duty revenues in the Czech Republic and in Slovakia grow more slowly than other tax revenues

In August 2015, The Supreme Audit Institutions of  Czech Republic and Slovakia agreed to conduct parallel audits aimed primarily at excise duty administration an signed an Agreement for this purpose. The topic of the parallel audits was chosen because both EU Member States follow common European legislation on this matter, thereby providing an opportunity to ascertain how European legislation is applied on a national level, how the excise duty administration system is set up, and how the system in Slovakia and the system in the Czech Republic differ.

The audit questions on which the parallel audits were based were agreed jointly. The parallel audits aimed to compare the performance of the excise duty administrators while taking into account qualitative and quantitative indicators and identifying weaknesses in the excise duty administration process. Answers to the following audit questions in particular should have been sought:

- Have excise duty administrators in the Czech Republic and Slovakia been attaining comparable values of qualitative indicators while incurring comparable costs?

- Has implementation of the EMCS1 resulted in more effective excise duty administration and has been spending on its implementation effective?

- The joint final report on the audit results was drawn up in accordance with ISSAI 300 - Fundamental Principles of Performance Auditing

Source: https://www.nku.cz/assets/publikace-a-dokumenty/ostatni-publikace/spolecna-zprava-kontrola-spotrebni-dane-cr-sr_cz.pdf

English report: https://intosai-cooperativeaudits.org/catalog/report/joint-report-on-the-results-of-parallel-audits-of-excise-duty-administration-in-the-slovak-republic-and-in-the-czech-republic