Supreme Audit Office
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Each citizen who pays taxes to the state wants to be sure that this money is spent appropriately. The NIK, as the guardian of public funds, takes care of legal, sound and efficient spending and reliable accountability of these funds. Not only does the NIK disclose irregularities, but also proposes possible solutions aimed at better spending in the future as well. NIK audits show in which areas the state operates well and which need to be improved. Some improvements are introduced already during audits, while others soon after their completion. If the irregularities found stem from loopholes in the regulations or unclear legal provisions, the NIK postulates changes in the law (so called de lege ferenda proposals). When NIK auditors find criminal offences or negligence, they inform the law enforcement bodies.

 

Public money spending calls for NIK auditing

The Supreme Audit Office investigates all the areas of the state where public money or state assets are involved. The NIK also checks whether public institutions do their job effectively, efficiently and economically. Every year, the NIK audits a few thousand entities, and on this basis it develops a report presenting the overall picture of the state functioning. Pronouncements on audit results are submitted to the Sejm (lower chamber of the Polish Parliament) and to the institutions responsible for right functioning of the audited entities.

 

State budget under the microscope

The most important audit that the NIK performs is the state budget execution audit. Every year, the NIK carries out audits in 400 entities within the state budget execution audit. This audit is the priority task in the NIK annual work plan. Every year, at a plenary session of the Sejm, the NIK President presents the results of the budget audit. They are described in the document entitled Analysis of the execution of the state budget and monetary policy guidelines.

 

Annual planning

The plan of NIK audits for the given year is developed on the basis of priority audit directions established by the NIK College (Polish: Kolegium NIK) every three years. In the years 2009-2011, the NIK is to assess whether the state operates smoothly and is friendly to its citizens, whether public resources are managed effectively and what the presence of Poland in the European Union is like. Audits planned for 2011 are mainly concerned with the state budget, the condition of public finance, the economy, the safety of the state and citizens, health protection, ecology, education, social problems and activities relates to Poland’s membership in the European Union.

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