Polish auditors from NIK will look into the functioning of IBAN in the area of financial audit and, if needed, recommend improvements in the work of the external auditor of NATO. The review which is scheduled from September to December 2014 will involve best NIK auditors, including persons who used to work in NATO structures. The peer review costs will be covered from the NATO budget. The NATO Council resolved to carry out the review, which led to the appointment of NIK as coordinator of that undertaking.
IBAN is the auditing body of NATO. It has operated since 1953. It audits finances of NATO bodies, verifies the use of funds as part of the NATO Security Investment Programme (NSIP) co-financed by NATO member states and conducts performance audits to assess effectiveness and efficiency of operations of various NATO bodies.
IBAN comprises six members who oversee the conduct of audits by a team of approx. twenty professional auditors. IBAN members are appointed by the North-Atlantic Council which is the only body to which IBAN reports on their audits. At the moment IBAN includes representatives of Czech Republic, Greece, the Netherlands, Turkey and Great Britain. IBAN members are appointed for 4-year terms, without the possibility of extending the mandate. One of IBAN members appointed by the NATO Council acts as its Chair for a 2-year term. From 2006 to 2010, Poland had its representative in IBAN who was the Board’s Chair in the years 2007-2009.
NIK audited in the past the implementation of many NSIP projects, e.g. dealing with modernisation and development of military airports and seaports as well as purchase and installation of long-range radars, construction of elements of the NATO Integrated Air Defence System, set-up of communication systems and airport fuel bases.
NIK has also conducted audits that usually belong to IBAN mandate, such as the financial audit of the Multinational Corps Northeast (MNC NE) (which is the NATO operational military structure that includes military formations stationed in Denmark, Germany and Poland, with its headquarters in Szczecin). The last audit ended up with NIK’s clean opinion. The Polish Supreme Audit Office particularly commended the implementation in the Corps of the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS).
