Ministry of Agriculture violated the Accounting Act
Press Release – January 8, 2009
Auditors from the Supreme Audit Office (SAO) performed an audit that focused on the immovable state property managed by the Ministry of Agriculture in 2007. The auditors aimed at the management of finances and financial operations, scrutinized internal control systems within the field. Significant violations of the Accounting Act (the Act No. 563/1991 Coll.) were revealed.
“The 2007 financial statement of the Ministry of Agriculture did not inventory some of their property. The account balance is inconclusive, as the ministry did not accomplish the stock-taking in compliance with the Accounting Act“, said president of the SAO František Dohnal.
When stock-taking in the end of 2007, the ministry did not detect a discrepancy between the data kept in their statements and facts described in the real estate cadastre. The ministry’s organisational units did not submit all stock-taking lists, or the inventories did not contain all essentials. In the period from physical inventory till the end of the accounting period, tangible property acquisitions and losses were not recorded sufficiently. Items put on account Tangible assets in progress, worth as high as CZK 2.4 million, were not actual assets.
“The auditors found out that the act on the state property and legal relations of the Czech Republic (Act No. 219/2000 Coll.) was contravened by the ministry when its temporary non-used property was let for rent“, said Dohnal.
Directions issued by the ministry for the period from January 2001 to July 25, 2007, did not abide the Act No. 219/2000 Coll. and hired out some property to non-profit farming organizations for around 30–50 percentage of the open-market price, which would be standard in the location at the time. Five years after the law had become into effect, the ministry avoided adjusting of the contract terms, and continued with execution of the contracts although the lease relations had already expired.
The audit operation was included into the 2008 Audit Plan of the SAO under No. 08/18. Jaromíra Steidlová, Member of the SAO Board, controlled the operation and drew up the audit report as well.
Radka Burketová
Press Speaker
Supreme Audit Office