Speech of the President of the Court of Auditors of Slovenia, Mr Tomaž Vesel
Seminar - 20th Anniversary of the SAO, Senate of the Parliament of the CR, 25.7.2013
Your Excellencies,
President of the Senate Milan Štěch,
President Miloslav Kala, Vice-President Ms Zdeňka Horníková,
Members of the European Court of Auditors,
Presidents of Supreme Audit Institutions,
Distinguished guests, Ladies and Gentleman
I am privileged to be able to participate at the meeting which marks the 20th Anniversary of the Supreme Audit Office of the Czech Republic. I consider this a huge milestone in the history of this Supreme Audit Institution since it confirms the good and valuable work accomplished during the period of the last 20 years. On the other hand, it opens a new and undoubtedly even more successful chapter for the years to come. Allow me to point out here that the Court of Audit of the Republic of Slovenia will be celebrating the same anniversary next year. I find it extremely valuable to be able to learn from our esteemed partner with its extensive experience and expertise.
I am extremely honoured to greet you for the first time as the President of the Court of Audit of the Republic of Slovenia at this very event. I would like to congratulate Mr Miloslav Kala and other members of the Supreme Audit Office of the Czech Republic for celebrating your 20th anniversary. Considering consistently great relations between our institutions, I am convinced that our cooperation will continue to be successful throughout the course of our terms and beyond. I believe, there are many possibilities for even upgrading our relationship which fills me with great pleasure.
In this period of time it is more important than ever to maintain and strengthen the cooperation between our Supreme Audit Institutions by exchanging views and experience gained throughout the years. Sharing experiences and best practices benefits all Supreme Audit Institutions and favours the efficient, effective and economic spending of public funds and thus contributes to economic development. In the days when it is required from the public sector to increase the amount and the quality of its output while disposing with fewer resources, it is of utmost importance to increase the transparency and accountability in order to develop a stable environment and improve the management of public funds. It is the institutions like ours and our effective operation that contribute towards achieving such objectives.
Please let me briefly describe the work that the Court of Audit of the Republic of Slovenia effectively and efficiently performed in the year 2012. Our institution was carrying out 216 audits, issued 114 audit reports and 19 post-audit reports. We reviewed the operations of 169 auditees and subsequently provided 277 recommendations and assessed 68 corrective measures. Experts of the Court of Audit continued with their active participation in the international working groups on state auditing. They exchanged their experience in order to improve the quality of audit reports and promote the coordination of audit methodology at the international level.
Ladies and gentlemen,
please allow me to stress the importance of the annual meeting of the Supreme Audit Institutions of Visegrád countries and Austria and Slovenia (V4+2), which the Court of Audit of the Republic of Slovenia will be hosting this September. I consider such meetings a great opportunity to bring together experts in the field of auditing who share their experience in watching over public money. I am delighted to have the opportunity to welcome you, Mr Kala, and members of other delegations to our country.
I would like to conclude by thanking once again for being given the opportunity to address you all, distinguished guests at the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Supreme Audit Office of the Czech Republic. I am honoured to be able to celebrate this event with you, especially because today is the Statehood Day in Slovenia, and our country is celebrating 22nd anniversary of independence.
Distinguished guests, I am hopeful that the cooperation between the European Supreme Audit Institutions will be even strengthened in the future.