Report on the Audit of the Management and Control Systems of the EU Structural Funds

Report ID: 274

In 2006, the SAIs of  Austria, Hungary, Poland and Slovenia decided to carry out a coordinated audit to the Management and Control Systems of the EU Structural Funds. The audit objective was to assess the compliance of participating countries’ activities for the implementation of selected operational programs co-financed from the ERDF with the requirements of the Community law and their respective national law.

The scope of the audit covered the functioning of the internal control system implemented in the budget year of 2007 in one or several priority axis, operation or program selected by the individual SAIs, which get support to implement the “convergence” objective from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) 2007–2013. 

SOURCE: https://www.nku.cz/en/audit/coordinated-audits/

Strengthening Procurement Audit Practices & Compliance in the Caribbean - Compendium Report of Collaborative Procurement Audits Undertaken in Select Caribbean Countries

Report ID: 279

With the joint support of the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), CAROSAI launched an initiative for collaborative audits on procurement. The SAIs of  Bahamas, Guyana, Suriname, Barbados, Montserrat, St Kitts, Curacao and Belize conducted the collaborative audit in their respective countries. The audits were conducted simultaneously as part of a knowledge-sharing approach in reviewing procurement activities. The purpose of these audits was to assess the general adequacy of procurement practices across the region.

The report aims to share audit methodologies and approaches as well as  to serve as a tool for knowledge-sharing and a baseline for procurement audit in the Caribbean providing insights on government’s engagement and compliance with procurement rules and recommendations for enhanced procurement practices.

Source: carosai.org/strengthening-procurement-audit-practices-compliance-in-the-caribbean-compendium-report-of-collaborative-procurement-audits-undertaken-in-select-caribbean-countries/

Cooperation between the Republic of Slovenia and the Russian Federation in the field of culture, science and education

Report ID: 287

In order to evaluate the effectiveness of their Governments in meeting the objectives set in the Agreements in the Field of Culture, Science and Education, in the period from 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2019, the Court of Audit of Slovenia and the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation, conducted a parallel audit.

The audit objective was to express an opinion on the effectiveness of the auditees, namely the Government, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport, in meeting the objectives set in the Agreement on cooperation and the Agreement on centres (audit field). In order to be able to express the opinion, the key audit question was posed, whether the objectives set in the Agreement on cooperation and the Agreement on centres were met. The answer to the key audit question was given by answering the following sub-questions: ·

• Was planning and monitoring of cooperation in the field of culture, science and education appropriate?
• Were objectives set in Agreements and defined in programmes pertaining to the field of culture met?
• Were objectives set in Agreements and defined in programmes pertaining to the field of science and education met.

Source: http://www.rs-rs.si/en/audits-auditing/audit-archive/audit/cooperation-between-the-republic-of-slovenia-and-the-russian-federation-in-the-field-of-culture-sci/

The Pacific Regional Report of the Cooperative Audit of Preparedness for Implementation of Sustainable Development Goals

Report ID: 338

In 2016, 73 SAIs and one sub-national audit office from six INTOSAI regions compromised to participate in an ISSAI-based cooperative performance audit of preparedness for implementation of the (SDGs). The purpose of the cooperative performance audit was to highlight the ongoing relevance of SAIs, by their contribution through high-quality performance audits of country preparedness to implement the SDGs.

In PASAI, 13 SAIs participated in the cooperative audit – Cook Islands, Fiji, Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) National, FSM Pohnpei, FSM Kosrae, FSM Yap,Kiribati, Palau, PNG, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Tuvalu. This audit was led by the FSM National Public Auditor’s office in combination with the state SAIs of Kosrae, Pohnpei, and Yap. Because the Public Auditor’s office in the State of Chuuk was in transition, the national office also assessed preparedness in the State of Chuuk. As a result, there was one consolidated audit report that reported on the administrative preparedness to implement the SDGs at the national level plus at the state and local levels.

The cooperative audit was based on a Whole of Government approach. This implies that any audit of the implementation of an individual SDG goal or target will also need to look at its interconnections with other goals and targets.

The SAIs followed the Guidance on Auditing Preparedness developed by UN, the INTOSAI Knowledge Sharing Committee and IDI and during the audit covered the following key audit objectives:

• To what extent has the government adapted the 2030 Agenda into its national context?
• Has the government identified and secured resources and capacities (means of implementation) needed to implement the 2030 Agenda?
• Has the Government established a mechanism to monitor, follow-up, review and report on the progress towards the implementation of the SDGs?

This audit was supported by PASAI by joining with IDI to facilitate the planning and reporting meetings and provided dedicated on-site support to audit teams where required. The report contains lessons learnt from the audit.

Source: https://www.pasai.org/cooperative-performance-audit-reports

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