The state financial assets should be reassessed
Press Release – November 14, 2008
From February to July 2008, auditors from the Supreme Audit Office (SAO) performed and audit of the administration of state financial assets and the state budget chapter ‘State Financial Assets Operations’ (SFAO). The audited body was the Ministry of Finance, which administers the chapter on the bases of the Act No. 218/2000 Sb. (Budgetary Rules). The auditing period extended from 2006 to 2007.
The Ministry of Finance failed to include in its accounting both the SFAO chapter funds and the assets on the State Financial Assets (SFA) inventory list, notwithstanding that it was the state ownership, which had to be accounted for as stipulated by the Accountancy Act. The Ministry’s own auxiliary records of the inventory of these assets were regulated neither by legislation nor by its internal rules and lacked the requisite information power and reliability.
In 2006 and 2007, the Ministry transferred CZK 4,182.2 million into the State Financial Assets funds in absence of any ruling by the Chamber of Deputies, the Government or any relevant special act, as stipulated by the Budgetary Rules. The Ministry included in the SFA such funds that did not possessed the nature of SFA’s monetary means as defined by the Budgetary Rules.
The Ministry in its capacity of administrator of the SFAO chapter failed to provide for a control to be carried out in this area, within the meaning of the Act on Financial Audits. Auditors concluded that the SFA area should be re-assessed, namely their extent and purpose, as well as the gathering of finances in the SFA funds. The accounting should be complete and reliably reflect upon the facts and strict administration rules for such peculiar state assets should be set“, said president of the SAO František Dohnal.
The auditing operation was included into the 2008 Audit Plan of the SAO under No. 08/08. Eliška Kadaňová, Member of the SAO Board, controlled the operation and drew up the audit conclusion as well.
Radka Burketová
Press Speaker
Supreme Audit Office