Today, 6 November 2024, Mr Edgars Korčagins, Auditor General of Latvia, and Ms Maija Āboliņa, Council Member of the State Audit Office of Latvia, presented the new management approach of the State Audit Office’s recommendations in the Public Expenditure and Audit Committee of the Saeima (Latvian Parliament), which provided for controlling the achieved result rather than the process and actions. Its purpose is to create a basis for a result-based working culture both within the State Audit Office of Latvia and in audited entities while implementing the recommendations of the State Audit Office of Latvia not formally but upon their merits.
“The change in the approach to work with the recommendations provided by the State Audit Office of Latvia will have an impact on the entire working process of the State Audit Office of Latvia starting from public policy area analysis and the selection of audit topics, continuing with public sector auditing and ending with the management stage of the recommendations. It envisages a digital and transparent system, which will promote the accountability of public sector institutions and officials and the progress towards a clear result,” indicated Auditor General Edgars Korčagins.
BRIEFLY
- The recommendations provided in the audits are the most important added value of the work of the State Audit Office of Latvia because their implementation brings changes to the development of Latvia.
- In the supervision of the recommendations, the State Audit Office of Latvia will evaluate specific result indicators. An endless process and discussions will not be enough to recognise any recommendation as implemented.
- International experience shows that recommendations are mostly implemented in the first three years, therefore the State Audit Office of Latvia will carry out supervision for no longer than five years.
- It is expected that after the implementation of the digital solution, everyone will be able to follow each recommendation up on the website of the State Audit Office of Latvia.
“The new approach will enable us to demonstrate the added value of the audit work of the State Audit Office of Latvia clearly by providing a convincing answer to the question, “what does it change?”, as regards what changes are expected or have already taken place,” explained Ms Maija Āboliņa, Council Member of the State Audit Office of Latvia, Head of the Action Line of Corporate Management for the implementation of the recommendations of the State Audit Office of Latvia.
First of all, the State Audit Office of Latvia will demonstrate the changes achieved as a result of the audits clearly both in terms of nature and scope. “Responsible state institutions and officials will not be able to excuse themselves with endless discussions in working groups or with formal adoption of regulations because this will not be enough to recognize any recommendation as implemented,” stressed Ms Āboliņa.
Secondly, it is expected that a number of recommendations will decrease as there will be targets defined rather than actions to be taken to achieve them. It will make reducing the administrative burden in the implementation of recommendations both for the State Audit Office of Latvia and audited entities possible. At the same time, one should count on the fact that the deadlines for the implementation of the recommendations will be extended because real changes occur in practice only after all the necessary actions have already been completed. “For instance, introduction of a new service requires training of specialists, maybe a law to be drafted and adopted but the State Audit Office of Latvia will continue monitoring the implementation of the recommendation until we can make sure that this service is provided in practice and can measure specifically how many people have received it,” explained Ms Maija Āboliņa.
Thirdly, the State Audit Office of Latvia will monitor the implementation of the recommendations for a maximum of five years. International practice confirms that when there is support for the implementation of recommendations, they are usually implemented within the first three years. Otherwise, they are in the endless process of implementation for a long time, and they lose relevance in modern changing environment. Ms Āboliņa states, “During this period, the State Audit Office of Latvia will cooperate with the responsible institutions and officials and will inform the public periodically in various ways about both successes and inhibiting factors.”
Fourthly, it is essential that the audited entities update information on the progress of implementation of recommendations constantly and that the public can follow the implementation of each recommendation and ask questions if it is delayed. One plans that the State Audit Office of Latvia will introduce a new digital solution in the summer of next year, which will become available gradually on the website for audited entities and the broader public.
The development of the approach takes into account international practice, especially the approach of the Supreme Audit Institution of Lithuania in this area. The recommendations given by the expert team of the supreme audit institutions of Lithuania, Denmark and Slovenia in 2022 by concluding the Peer Review of the State Audit Office of Latvia have also been taken into account. In addition, the introduction of the concept has been going on for a long time, that is, there are a series of audits in which pilot projects have been implemented successfully, recommendations have been defined and recommendations implementation plans have been prepared according to the new approach.
About the State Audit Office of Latvia
The State Audit Office of the Republic of Latvia is an independent, collegial supreme audit institution. The purpose of its activity is to find out whether the actions with the financial means and property of a public entity are legal, correct, useful and in line with public interests, as well as to provide recommendations for the elimination of discovered irregularities. The State Audit Office conducts audits in accordance with International Standards of Supreme Audit Institutions of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions INTOSAI (ISSAI), whose recognition in Latvia is determined by the Auditor General. Upon discovering deficiencies, the State Audit Office of Latvia provides recommendations for their elimination, but it informs law enforcement authorities about potential infringements of the law.
Additional information
Ms Gunta Krevica
Head of PR and Internal Communication Division
Ph. 23282332 | E-mail: Gunta.Krevica@lrvk.gov.lv