Politics is increasingly hasty. So says the Court of Auditors. According to the body, this makes monitoring and accountability for new laws and regulations increasingly difficult. A common mistake according to the Court of Auditors: the existing policy is updated and a new one is introduced, “while the implementation has not yet been adequately considered”.
In its reporting audit for 2022, the Court of Auditors writes that this hasty urgency has consequences for accounting. Departmental administrations are not always in order, there is insufficient knowledge available, regulations are too complex or are not automated enough.
To make matters worse: the finance departments that are supposed to assist implementation with expertise and oversight are often “thin as paper,” writes the ECA. This is addressed by using internal accountants, which in turn have implications for audit independence.
“Structural Weakness”
Another obstacle for the Court of Auditors: the large number of provisional adjustments to the budget. According to the Court of Auditors, this makes the budget process “unclear for parliament and ministries”. Last year saw an exceptionally large number of non-recurring supplementary budgets: the budget was adjusted 51 times. Sample of adaptations: the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
It is not the only Ministry of Economy to have been slapped, the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport has also received some criticism. ‘Structural weakness’, writes the Court of Auditors, pointing to problems with the settlement of advance payments made during the corona crisis. The ministry cannot guarantee the legality of 5.1 billion advances. A ‘serious defect’ writes the Court of Auditors. The Court of Auditors gives ten of the twelve ministries an unsatisfactory judgment for financial management.
Source: BNR
Fernando Dowling is an author and political journalist who writes for 24 News Globe. He has a deep understanding of the political landscape and a passion for analyzing the latest political trends and news.
