SAI and Parliamentary Audit Committee Relations – Estonian Experience

TÕNIS SAAR

Director of Corporate Services

National Audit Office of Estonia

REPORTING TO PARLIAMENT

• no formal procedure of reporting to the Riigikogu (parliament), except an annual report by the AG until 2002 Act of the NAOE

• no special committee to deal with the reports of NAOE until 2004

• need for such committee evident, but it took time and effort to establish it

Select Committee on the Control of State Budget

• established in February 2004

• objective – to ensure the regularity, economy, efficiency and effectiveness of use of the state assets and budgetary funds by the Government and to execute control over the execution of the state budget in cooperation with the NAOE

• sessions of the Committee open to public

• not a standing, but select committee

• 6 members from different parties, both from coalition and opposition, chaired by the representative of the oppositon

• reports to the Riigikogu at least once a year

Duties of the Select Committee

• to review the consolidated report on the previous financial year, and the Auditor's Report thereof

• to review issues concerning auditing of the public sector • to discuss audit reports and overviews by the NAOE and

important questions raised by the Auditor General • to inform the NAOE about problems communicated to members

of the Committee by authorities and private persons • to form an opinion, based on the information received from the

NAOE, on cases of obstruction of its activities

Riigikogu Select Committee and the NAOE

• all reports of the NAOE submitted to the Committee

• the Committee selects reports that need further discussion

• the Committee asks auditee or other relevant person to the hearing, when necessary, a representative of the NAOE participates

• over two years of good cooperation between the committee and the NAOE

How to make cooperation of Committee and NAOE more effective?

• to change its status - into a standing committee

• to give more time for review and discussion of the audit reports of NAOE

• to have more frequent and thorough hearings of government officials

• to prepare Committee’s own recommendations and their follow-up

• to record the Committee’s sessions and improve public access

How can the NAOE work be improved?

• by improving the quality of the audit reports of the NAOE

• by providing the parliament with information that is most needed

• by laying more emphasis on performance audit in order to study programme’s outcomes

• by carring out audits and overviews with the objective to disseminate best practice

Thank you