Special Report Management of a Cross-Border Broadband Initiative: the Bytel Project

Report ID: 280

This report is the result of a co-ordinated examination between the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General and the Northern Ireland Audit Office to the Bytel project. The project was aimed to provide high-speed broadband connectivity linking Belfast, Craigavon, Armagh, Dundalk and Dublin It was supported by the European Union (EU) Interreg III programme, which ran from 2000 to 2006.

Due to the nature of the issues to be examined and that Bytel was located in Northern Ireland, the detailed work in relation to the grant payments was carried out by the NIAO. The NIAO's report is also attached as an appendix of the report. The report examines the role of the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources in the management of the project.

Source: https://www.audit.gov.ie/en/Find-Report/Publications/Special%20Reports/Special-Report-90-Management-of-Cross-Border-Initiative-the-Bytel-Project.html

Auditoría Coordinada de Recursos Hidrícos

Report ID: 227

La auditoría se realizó en la modalidad de auditoría coordinada, en el marco de la Comisión Técnica Especial de Medio Ambiente - COMTEMA de la OLACEFS. Contó con la participación de las EFS de Argentina, Brasil, Bolivia, Chile,  Colombia,  Costa Rica, Cuba, Honduras. México, Paraguay, Perú y Venezuela.

El objetivo general fue examinar la gestión en los estados nacionales de la región para garantizar el uso sustentable del recurso hídrico. Para ello, se definieron dos objetivos específicos.

Objetivo específico 1: Examinar si en la gestión del recurso hídrico se cumple con la buena gobernanza (INTOSAI), a saber:

(a) adecuada definición de roles y responsabilidades;

(b) adecuada coordinación de los organismos gubernamentales involucrados;

(c) existencia de mecanismos que garanticen la participación ciudadana de manera amplia;

(d) procesos de toma de decisiones transparentes;

(d) mecanismos de rendición de cuenta efectivos.

Objetivo específico 2: Examinar si los instrumentos de gestión aplicados aseguran la sustentabilidad del recurso hídrico.

Los hallazgos de la auditoría coordinada permitieron identificar las debilidades y oportunidades de mejora de la gobernanza hídrica en la región, representadas por el incompleto desarrollo de las políticas hídricas nacionales, algunos vacíos legales y la compleja trama institucional involucrada en la gestión del recurso.

Asimismo, el examen de la implementación de los instrumentos de gestión derivados de la política hídrica señala las necesidades de fortalecer la planificación estratégica a nivel de cuencas hídricas así como intensificar los sistemas de monitoreo de calidad y cantidad de los recursos hídricos y las acciones de vigilancia y control.

Fuente: https://www.olacefs.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/004.pdf

International Coordinated Parallel Audit of Public Debt Management Information Systems

Report ID: 254

During 2013-2014 the Supreme Audit Institutions of Brazil, Bulgaria, Fiji, Georgia, Moldova, Romania, Ukraine, Yemen, and Zambia carried out the International Coordinated Parallel Audit of Public Debt Management Information Systems under the current Strategic Plan of the INTOSAI Working Group on Public Debt (WGPD). The SAIs of China, Egypt, Mexico and Russian Federation took part in the project as observers.

The audit was conducted on the basis of the Common Parallel Audit Programme 1, elaborated in 2012 by the Accounting Chamber of Ukraine (as parallel audit coordinator), according to the International Standards for Supreme Audit Institutions (ISSAI) and best national practices. Summaries of national audit reports, developed by the participating SAIs within the framework of the parallel audit, complement the Joint Parallel Audit Report.

The parallel audit was focused on assessment of efficiency of Public Debt Management Information Systems (PDMIS) functioning in jurisdictions of the participating SAIs. The primary objective of the audit was to ascertain:

• whether the management and control processes of national Public Debt Management Information Systems were in place, and
• whether the reviewed information systems were equipped with adequate general and application controls and if they were properly implemented.

Joint Report on EUROFISC Cooperative Audit

Report ID: 255

Since 2011, EU Member States have implemented EUROFISC, an early warning system, which enables them to share information on suspected companies and their customers. EUROFISC increases the chances of national administrations to detect fraudsters in due time. The quality of data, IT support, response times and response rates of the Member States, however, need to be enhanced to effectively combat VAT fraud within the EU.

The current value added tax (VAT) system in the European Union (EU) provides opportunities for intra–Community fraud that all Member States have to deal with. This is sufficient reason for the Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) of the EU to address this topic. Due to its European dimension, the SAIs considered it necessary to cooperate in their audit activities. Consequently, a number of coordinated audits were conducted during the last years within the EU.

The SAIs of Austria, Germany and Hungary carried out a coordinated audit in 2013 and 2014 by each SAI in its territory and according to its own mandate. Their audit activities resulted in national reports for each of the three participating countries, and a joint report. The joint report presents the overall and synthesized conclusions and recommendations supported by the relevant audit observations of the participating SAIS. The audit period covered the years 2011 to 2013.

EUROSAI IT Working Group Parallel Audit on Biometric Passports

Report ID: 261

At the 8th Meeting of the EUROSAI IT Working Group (ITWG), held in Paris, France, in 2013, the SAIs of Switzerland (Audit coordinator), Portugal, Belgium, Latvia, Lithuania and Norway, decided to carry out Parallel Audit on Biometric Passports

The objective of the audit was to assess whether adequate management and control processes are in place relating to the biometric passport production process. Within the primary objective, auditors were expected to ascertain whether the process to obtain a reliable and secure biometric passport is well defined and properly implemented.

The main goal of this audit was to validate the following areas with regard to the production process, including the risk mitigation aspect: Benefit realisation, Security, Effectiveness and efficiency

The evaluation of the reported results showed that the overall passport process is generally under control while a couple of high-risk findings were identified in the non-process-specific assessments. In the non-process-specific assessments, most of the countries found deficiencies and weaknesses related to the IS/IT system and the IT management. Medium risks have been identified in the area of laws and regulations, cost-benefit realisation and transparency, as well as in security regulations relating to internal and external personnel.

Source: https://www.vkontrole.lt/en/docs/booklet-parallel-audit-on-biometricpassports.pdf