The State Audit Office of Latvia completed 42 audits in 2024: 27 were financial audits [1], 12 were performance audits [2], 2 were compliance audits [3], and one review. One interim audit report and one additional audit report have been published during financial audits this year. Work continues in 41 audits, of which 14 are performance audits, one is a compliance audit, one is a review and 25 are financial audits.
“The year 2024 has been an intense year for the State Audit Office of Latvia and has seen significant milestones such as the amendments to the State Audit Office Law have been adopted, as well as a new approach to audit recommendation management has been approved, which focuses on achieved results rather than process control and will allow us to facilitate changes in the public interest even more effectively in the future. As a result of the completed audits, we have raised crucial issues that will improve the management of public resources and increase their transparency. The recommendations made in our audits continue to be a tool for positive change, and we will work to ensure that their implementation does not stop,” emphasised Auditor General Edgars Korčagins.
Audit reports, interim audit report and a review published during the year:
- In FEBRUARY, an audit was published, which assessed whether the established administrative fine enforcement system was operating effectively and whether the enforcement of fines was ensured with the least possible resources. The conclusion is that bureaucracy and the amount of work of state institutions in the enforcement of administrative fines have increased generally but the indicators of payment of administrative fines are not improving significantly.
- In MARCH, an audit was published on the implementation of intelligent transport systems (ITS). So far, ITS have not been implemented in a targeted, planned and coordinated manner. During the audit, one of the prerequisites was created, the National Access Point, where data from the transport sector could be stored and accessed. However, there was a lack of a strategic vision for the further development of ITS and the use of stored data to create real services that would benefit the public.
- In APRIL, interim audit report “Use of special flights during the Prime Minister’s official travels” was published revealing that at least 221,566 euros from the state budget were spent illegally in organising these flights and at least 323,688 euros from EU funding were spent uneconomically. In April, 26 financial audit reports on the 2023 annual accounts of ministries and central government institutions were also published by providing all the unqualified opinions of the State Audit Office of Latvia for the first time. In its turn, the audit report on the management of state-owned enterprises by the Ministry of Culture, which was a follow-up on the implementation of the recommendations provided in the audit completed in 2018, concluded that no significant changes and improvements were achieved in the management of state-owned enterprises.
- In MAY, the audit on the actions of local and regional governments with forest resources was published stating that local and regional governments did not act with the forest resources they owned economically, did not gain the greatest possible benefit from the management of these valuable public assets.
- In JUNE, a review on the Rail Baltica project was published both the joint report of the supreme audit institutions of the Baltic States and the national audit report of the State Audit Office by finding that the scope of the project in Latvia was changed without a unified approach to its approval and that decisions were difficult to track.
- In JULY, the audit was published which concluded that much greater efforts should be made to ensure the training and persistence of teachers in the profession. The actions taken so far have not been sufficiently effective in solving the problem. The causes of the shortage of teachers are not only shortcomings in the planning of teacher training and the inability to train the necessary number of teachers, but also other factors related to the support and provision of teacher work.
- In AUGUST, the audit was published on availability of public transport services on subsidized regional routes. The audit concluded that public transport routes were being created without a unified approach, without complying with laws and regulations, making inappropriate decisions and setting partially justified quality requirements. The annual financial audit of the annual consolidated financial statement of the State (ACFS) has also been published. Unfortunately, the quality of the ACFS is still without the expected progress, and the opinion has once again been qualified. The reason is the still unresolved problems in the SRS Payment Administration Information System, which prevent auditors from obtaining appropriate evidence about the information included in the SRS tax report.
- In SEPTEMBER, an audit was published that discovered that the Ministry of Agriculture spent 3.1 million euros inappropriately and uneconomically on the establishment of its electric vehicle charging station network. Meanwhile, the harsh conclusions after the audit of palliative care in Latvia were that the palliative care was not organised according to the needs of patients. Outpatient palliative care services were critically insufficient, as a result of which most patients ended up in hospitals whose capacity was already insufficient.
- In OCTOBER, an audit on the availability and development of human resources in the courts of Latvia was published revealing that the number of judges dismissed from office exceeded the number appointed to the position of judge, and therefore there might be a shortage of judges in the coming years. In addition, not all judges take sufficient care of improving their knowledge and skills, as one in ten has attended training less than once a year in the last four years. An audit was also published, which found that the Ministry of Welfare had calculated an additional funding required to co-finance the expenses of the guaranteed minimum income allowance in a significantly larger amount than was actually necessary.
- In NOVEMBER, an audit was published on the planning of the use of funds of the Emission Allowance Auction Instrument concluding that the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions was not taking place with the use of least financial resources. In its turn, after the audit on the activities carried out by local and regional governments to facilitate businesses, the State Audit Office of Latvia concluded that significant improvements were needed in the activities of local and regional governments, in the cooperation of state institutions and in the implementation of public investment projects to promote entrepreneurship in local and regional governments.
- The audit of the public procurement system published in DECEMBER produced two audit reports: “Challenges and Opportunities for the Development of Public Procurement” and “Effectiveness of Public Procurement in the Interior”. One concluded that the public procurement system and legal framework should be improved in Latvia so that the procurement process was simpler and faster and the work invested by procurement specialists was commensurate with the results obtained. In its turn, the audit on the provision of state-funded technical aids to population concluded that the administration of the social service was archaic and led to long waiting. In almost 900 cases, customers continued to wait in line although the technical aids were available in the warehouse.
The State Audit Office of Latvia meets with the Saeima Public Expenditure and Audit Committee regularly to discuss the progress of implementing the recommendations identified and provided during audits. The State Audit Office of Latvia also meets with other Saeima Committees to discuss the results of audits and related issues.
Information on the recommendations provided by the State Audit Office of Latvia and the status of their implementation is available to anyone interested on the Recommendation Implementation Platform of the State Audit Office of Latvia. The information is updated there twice a year: on March 1 and September 1. The Platform provides access to recommendations from audits that contain at least one unimplemented recommendation.
Significant investments in the professional development of other supreme audit institutions. This year, the experts from the State Audit Office of Latvia continued to share best practices, organised and conducted training, thus providing support in strengthening the capacity of the Supreme Audit Institutions of Moldova, Georgia, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, The Gambia and Dominica.
Cooperation with law enforcement and other competent authorities for the application of liability
The State Audit Office of Latvia has the authority to examine how public funds are used, as well as to provide recommendations to improve their management. The State Audit Office of Latvia does not have the right to punish, but according to the law, it must report violations found during audits to the competent authorities and monitor their consideration. This year:
- Based on the reports of the State Audit Office of Latvia, law enforcement institutions have initiated five criminal proceedings for alleged abuse of official position by paying illegal remuneration, organizing procurements, allowing illegal actions with municipal property, as well as for other potential criminal offenses; 42 criminal proceedings are ongoing (including 15 at the trial stage), which were initiated after audits in previous years;
- One conviction has entered into force for abuse of official position by paying illegal remuneration;
- Investigations have been initiated for 23 alleged administrative violations; 8 officials have been held administratively liable;
- Case management continues in 6 initiated proceedings for compensation for damages caused as a result of illegal actions identified during an audit, and 29,381 euros have been recovered as a result of the compensation case initiated by the Council of the State Audit Office of Latvia.
TOP achievements/ events
- Amendments to the State Audit Office Law have been adopted so that the State Audit Office of Latvia shall issue a single audit report on the accuracy of an annual consolidated financial statement of the Republic of Latvia instead of 27 separate audit opinions starting from 1 May 2025.
- A new approach to the management of recommendations by the State Audit Office of Latvia has been developed, which envisages controlling the achieved result of an audit recommendation rather than the process and activities of an audited entity.
- For the next three years, the State Audit Office of Latvia will lead the Working Group on Municipality Audit (WGMA) of the European Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (EUROSAI) by promoting cooperation and exchange of best practices among SAIs.
- The State Audit Office of Latvia hosted several informative workshops for state and municipal institutions (Materials of the workshops).
- Under School Programme “Ready for Life” of Foundation “Mission Possible”, the experts from the State Audit Office of Latvia have visited 15 schools across Latvia this year by meeting more than 370 children and young people. This autumn, the game “Do You Know What State Money Is?” became available in digital format on the platform www.dziveigatavs.lv. It means that a teacher receives the game materials upon request so that they can play it in the classroom at a convenient time. So far, the game material has been sent to 8 schools.
- For the first time, the State Audit Office of Latvia organised a Non-Governmental Organization Day. Cooperation with experts, NGOs and various public groups specialising in a specific field allows for more in-depth and qualitative audit work. Record of the event is here.
- Continuing the tradition, a Regional Media Day was organised by providing information about the latest published audits of the State Audit Office of Latvia, in which the conclusions and recommendations provided were particularly relevant in the regional context.
- For the second year in a row, the State Audit Office of Latvia has won the Gold category in the Sustainability Index.
- In the most ambitious communication industry competition in the Baltics, “Mi:t&Links. Baltic Communication Awards 2024”, the State Audit Office of Latvia won a bronze award in the “No Budget” category with the campaign “Oncology: Priority without Results”.
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
[1] The State Audit Office of Latvia is required to conduct financial audits by law, and they are carried out in ministries and other central government institutions (except local and regional governments) every year. After financial audits, the State Audit Office of Latvia issues opinions on the accuracy of the annual financial statements of ministries and state institutions. In financial audits, compliance issues are also assessed on a random basis in order to gain confidence about the use of funding in accordance with the purposes and legislation.
[2] A performance audit is an internationally recognized method where, in addition to accounting, financial and legal audits, the achievement of results, as well as economy, efficiency, and effectiveness of the impact of the achieved results are assessed.
[3] Compliance audits examine whether activities, actions of officials, financial transactions and information comply in all essential aspects with legislation, planning documents and nationally or internationally recognized best practices.