The Constitution of 2 April 1997 requires the NIK to audit (regarding legality, economic prudence, efficacy and diligence) the activity of:

• organs of the government administration,
• the National Bank of Poland,
• state legal persons,
• other state organisational units.

According to the Constitution, the NIK is also allowed to audit (regarding legality, economic prudence and diligence) the activity of:

• organs of local self-government,
• communal legal persons,
• other communal organisational units, and (regarding legality and economic prudence):
• other organisational units and economic subjects (to the extent to which they use state orcommunal property or resources or satisfy financial obligations towards the State).

The NIK carries out financial and performance audits. Audits in 2000:

• 4, 000 units audited
• 174 audits (included in the work plan)completed
• 275 ad hoc audits performed
• 477, 124 PLN saved (over twice as much as the NIK's budget)

Main Audit Areas In 2000 the NIK audited 4, 000 units. In the NIK the term audit has come to mean the so-called co-ordinated audit , by which we understand an audit carried out according to a single programme by more than one organisational unit. Therefore the number of audits given in the NIK’s work plan should be understood as the number of co-ordinated audits within which a much larger number of so-called single audits are performed. In 2000 174 (co-ordinated) audits were completed according to the work plan. This figure does not include ad hoc audits – in 2000 there were 257 of them. In the 2000 work plan the following areas were considered priorities:

• public finance
• management of public property
• implementation of the state system reforms
• state’s activity in solving the most crucial social problems
• internal security
• EU integration processes
• anti-corruption activity

The NIK undertakes audits:

• on its own initiative.
• on the order of the Sejm or its bodies
• on the request of the President of Poland or the Prime Minister

In 2000 the Sejm ordered the NIK to carry out 7 audits, while neither the President of Poland nor the Prime Minister requested the NIK to perform any.