Auditing local government finance [international seminar at NIK]

The idea for the Supreme Audit Institutions to cooperate in this area came from the SAI of Lithuania. It soon turned out that the audit of the local government budget sparks great interest in EUROSAI, especially in the Central-European and Balkan countries. The seminar in Warsaw is attended by nearly 40 persons from 16 countries. It shows how topical the issue is in the whole region.

Wojciech Misiąg about audit of local government budget

Wojciech Misiąg about audit of local government budget

Local governments in Poland are largely independent and are responsible for the lion share of public finance. The Act on the Supreme Audit Office of 1994 allowed NIK to audit it, with one reservation, though. The audit may be conducted in terms of legality, sound management and integrity but not efficacy (as it is the case with the government administration).

What does it mean in practice? The auditors may not question investments which they consider unnecessary and misconceived, if only they were carried out in a legal, economic reliable manner. Some experts believe that this is a gap and they would rather come back to the debate on the local government audit which was going on in Poland in the ‘90s.

”That’s why we find the initiative of the Lithuanian SAI even more interesting” - admits NIK President  Krzysztof Kwiatkowski. NIK will help promote it in the European Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (EUROSAI) where a regular working group dedicated to that issue may be set up in future. The approach to the local government finance auditing varies in different countries. Sharing experiences in this area is of benefit to all the EUROSAI members.

The seminar will last until 7 October. Apart from the presentation and the debate, the organisers also planned a study visit to the City Council of Warsaw and a meeting with the Treasurer of the Capital City of Warsaw.

One of the seminar participants is the Head of the SAI of Serbia Radoslav Sretenović with whom NIK President Krzysztof Kwiatkowski had a bilateral working meeting during the visit. Both institutions are going to cooperate more closely in the future.