Coordinated audit of the International Biosphere Reserve Eastern Carpathians

Report ID: 258

The International East Carpathians Biosphere Reserve, similarly to other biosphere reserves, should meet the criteria and functions specified by the UNESCO and included in the Statutory Framework, and should be directed by the guidelines for actions specified by the UNESCO in the Seville Strategy and the Pamplona Recommendations.

Between 2014 and 2015, as part of the activities of the  EUROSAI WGEA, the SAIs of Poland (Audit Coordinator), Slovak Republic and Ukraine decided to perform a parallel audit  to evaluate the activities carried out on the territory of the International Biosphere Reserve of the Eastern Carpathians for their National and Landscape Parks  which form the reserve on the Slovak, Ukrainian and Polish side and ensure implementation of the objectives, for which the biosphere reserve has been established.

The inspection consisted of the following issues:

• activity of the national authorities, related to the functioning of the Reserve and the entities it incorporates, including international cooperation;

• public funds intended for the functioning of the IECBR and for the functioning of the entities it incorporates, as well as the manner in which these funds are to be used;

• implementation of the provisions included in the regulations and other official documents concerning the functioning of the Reserve and entities it incorporates.

These issues were included in the “Joint inspection areas”, and each Party incorporated them for implementation within the national inspections.

Period subject to the inspection: Years 2012–2016.

Inspections – at the same time in Poland, Slovakia and Ukraine – have been conducted in the first half of 2017.

The objectives of the International East Carpathians Biosphere Reserve are being implemented, but it is not the Reserve that implements projects in its area – the parks that form theReserve perform statutory tasks resulting from national regulations and not specified as tasks of the biosphere reserve.

Supreme audit institutions of Slovakia, Ukraine and Poland, on the basis of the results of parallel audits, state that for proper determination – and effective implementation – of the common strategy of the Reserve, common priorities and objectives, it is necessary to take action by the competent authorities of the three countries to conclude an intergovernmental agreement in on the functioning of the Reserve.

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

Report ID: 259

As from 2008, Europe was hit by a financial crisis and a subsequent sovereign debt crisis. Many governments supported failing financial institutions with public funds amounting to hundreds of billions of euros. In response, the countries of the euro area introduced the European Banking Union, including a Single Supervisory Mechanism. In this Mechanism, the European Central Bank is directly responsible for prudential supervision of all ‘Significant Institutions’. National Competent Authorities are directly responsible for supervising the ‘Less Significant Institutions’, based on guidance of the European Central Bank.

The Supreme Audit Institutions of Austria, Cyprus, Finland, Germany and the Netherlands carried out a parallel audit to examine banking supervision at national level. The objectives of the parallel audit were:

1) to gain insight into differences among EU Member States in the way supervisors have set up and carry out prudential supervision for LSIs, and

2) to collect evidence about possible ‘audit gaps’ that may have emerged as a result of the introduction of the Single Supervisory Mechanism.

One of the findings was that a comprehensive audit mandate assessing the supervisory review and  evaluation process of banking supervision is no guaranteed in the Single Supervisory Mechanism(SSM) and that before November 2014, National Supreme Audit Institutions audit scope went far beyond what the ECA is able to exercise today vis-à-vis the ECB.

EUROSAI website:  https://www.eurosai.org/en/databases/audits/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/

AFROSAI-e _Collaborative Audit for Integrating Environmental Risks in an Audit at Local Government

Report ID: 263

During the 2015,  AFROSAI-E Governing Board and Technical Update Meetings, the role of SAIs in addressing critical environmental challenges through their day-day audit activities was discussed. They decided to design a simplistic way to use SAIs’ existing financial and human resources to identify possible areas of improvement supported by solution-driven  planning towards environmental focus and decide to conduct an Environmental Risk Project.

The SAIs of South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Botswana, Sierra Leone, Rwanda and Tanzania decided to participate in the program, which comprised, among others, the development of an e-learning programme, in collaboration with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), the execution of parallel audits and the development of a joint publication.

Find attached (in a merged file) the joint publication explaining the project methodology, as well as the  AUDIT REPORT ON MANAGEMENT OF SOLID WASTE IN HUYE DISTRICT – 2016 preparared by SAI Ruanda, as a result of the audit conducted in the framework of the Project.

Source: https://afrosai-e.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Integrating-Environmental-Audit-Risks-in-Audit-at-LG-level-Brochure1_00.pdf

Underlying Risks to Sustainable Public Finances

Report ID: 304

Parallel Audit Report to the Contact Committee of the heads of the SAIs  of the Member States of the European Union and the European Court of Auditors by the SAIs of Finland, Latvia, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia and Sweden (Coordinator).

The parallel audit project was endorsed by the Contact Committee at its meeting in June 2015. The participating SAIs followed an agreed broad common audit approach allowing them to conduct their audit work according to their national mandates. Each SAI was free to decide the scope, audit questions and methods for their respective audit while recognising the common approach. This parallel audit report is thus a synthesis of six audits conducted independently by SAIs at the national level. It contains general observations and conclusions but no common recommendations.

The aims of the parallel audit was to 1) draw attention to risks that need to be addressed in order to maintain fiscal sustainability based on recommendations from international organisations; and 2) assess how the governments dealt with the recommendations they received.

This audit was based on reviews of country specific reports and recommendations from the European Union (EU), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) issued in the period 2011–2015, (the audited period). The participating SAIs have mapped the various recommendations to their respective country as well as the government responses to these recommendations. They have furthermore audited the public availability of the recommendations at national level as well as national follow-up procedures. A number of SAIs have moreover assessed the effectiveness of government measures.

A general observation of the parallel audit working group is that recommendations issued by the three international organisations tend to overlap within each country. This might indicate that the international organisations have pinpointed relevant areas of concern. The overall conclusion is that multilateral surveillance of economic policy, even when the recommendations are not binding, constitutes good opportunities for governments to learn from best practices and to improve their policies.

SOURCE: https://www.eca.europa.eu/sites/cc/Lists/CCDocuments/Underlying%20Risks%20to%20Sustainable%20Public%20Finances/Parallel_Audit_Report_EN.pdf

COMPENDIUM CAROSAI PROGRAME ON COOPERATIVE AUDITS OF REVENUE DEPARTMENT

Report ID: 308

From 2013 to 2015, the SAIs of Bahamas, Barbados, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica y St. Lucia conducted a parallel audit of revenues,aimed to improve SAI’s professional staff and organisational capacity to conduct and report on audit of revenues / revenue departments (AIM). This audit took place under the framework of a CAROSAI Programme on Cooperative Audits of Revenue Department supported by the INTOSAI Development Initiative (IDI), the INTOSAI Capacity Building Committee (CBC).

The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of the management of taxes (such as VAT, income tax, business tax) in the participating countries by examining key aspects of the revenue collection process: 1. Registration; 2. Collection; 3. Compliance and enforcement; and 4. Monitoring and Reporting.

A general conclusion was tbat current management performance reporting mechanisms across the agencies audited did not enable management to exercise sufficient ongoing control over the debt collection function. In some instances high level revenue targets were set related to a predetermined value as opposed to an accurate assessment of total obligations.

This impacts governments’ revenue base. The development of a monitoring strategy would provide immediate business benefits by ensuring that where ineffective processes in the debt collections function are identified, they are reported to management promptly so that remedial action can be taken.

Over the longer term, regular management reporting based on monitoring the performance of the debt collection activities (with Key Performance Indicators assigned) would support management’s responsibility to ensure the efficiency and effectiveness of its collections business operations.

Source: https://www.eurosai.org/handle404?exporturi=/export/sites/eurosai/.content/documents/CAROSAI-Compendium.pdf