The five-year term of office of NIK as the external auditor of the Council of Europe has come to an end. At the meeting of the Committee of Ministers in Strasburg, NIK President, Marian Banaś, presented the results of audits conducted by NIK at the Council in the last year. NIK did not submit any reservations to the Council’s Financial Statements 2018, however the Office drafted 50 recommendations on how to improve the functioning of the Organisation. The Council of Europe associates 47 member states. It’s aim is to promote and protect human rights, democracy and the rule of law.
While preparing recommendations, the Polish auditors used their experience gathered in the previous 5 audit years. Since 2014, NIK has conducted over 40 audits, encompassing not only strictly financial issues, but also action plans for Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia and Moldova, IT systems and strategy, as well as HR management system. The President of NIK, Marian Banaś, presented the results of the resent audits and noted that the issues were grouped according to their urgency, strategic meaning and risks threatening the Council.
The issues present were divided into 12 groups:
- Financial transparency,
- Quality of reports,
- Constant improvement,
- Concept of Action Plans,
- Professional development of employees,
- Equal opportunities,
- Management of the staff’s data,
- Efficiency assessment,
- Planning quality,
- Coordination of activities,
- Limiting the risk of conflict of interest,
- Relations between the Council and the providers and clients.
NIK auditors pointed out primarily the need to increase transparency of reports prepared by the Council. Recommendations also concerned the management of employees. Moreover, the Council of Europe should provide equal chances for development and promotion of all employees. In the previous years, NIK recommended, among others, to materially improve the system of financial management, to better protect the assets at disposal, as well as to use the business intelligence software more effectively.
The Council of Europe is an institution of key importance, not only with regard to the human rights and the promotion of humanitarian values, but also preservation of the cultural heritage and support of self-governance. It cooperates internationally to fight crime and money laundering, especially corruption, supports the development of countries most in need, sets standards for medical substances. The Council was founded on 5 May 1949 by 10 states - Belgium, Denmark, France, Holland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Norway, Sweden, Great Britain and Italy, which signed the Statute of the Council of Europe (London Treaty). Currently, the Council associates 47 member states.
In course of the audits, the Polish auditors used international methodology based on the International Standards of Supreme Audit Institutions ISSAI. External audit of the Council will be proceeded by the French Cour des comptes.