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

OLACEFS Coordinated Audit on Environmental Liabilities

Report ID: 398

The management of solid and hazardous waste, such as mining waste, as a result of economic activities, is of great relevance, given the negative effects that its lack of management or inadequate management can have on the population, natural resources and ecosystems, which increases the risk of producing environmental liabilities.

Within the framework of the activities of the Technical Commission on the Environment (COMTEMA) of the Latin American and Caribbean Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (OLACEFS), a Coordinated Audit on Environmental Liabilities was carried out to address this issue.

The Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) of Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Honduras, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru and Dominican Republic; as well as the Audit Institutions (SAIs) of the Argentinean Provinces of Buenos Aires and Santa Fe participated in the audit. It was coordinated by the SAIs of Mexico and Peru. In addition, the audit was supported by the German Cooperation through GIZ.

During this audit, the state management for the prevention and integral management of environmental liabilities was evaluated. The audit assessed the actions carried out by the governmental entities responsible for the management (prevention/control and/or restoration) of environmental liabilities and their effect on the mitigation of the damage they cause to the environment. 

As a result of this evaluation, it was possible to analyse the results of the actions taken by 88 public institutions responsible for environmental liabilities in 9 Latin American and Caribbean countries and in 2 Argentinean provinces.

The findings of the Coordinated Audit show that the policy of attention to environmental liabilities, designed and implemented by the institutions evaluated, is not consolidated, which has led to a limited contribution to the preservation of the environment, of the actions of prevention and control of the generation of environmental liabilities and the remediation of existing ones.

Source: https://www.olacefs.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/03-Resumen-Ejecutivo-ACPA-11oct16-English_REVISADO_Setrad.pdf