The SAO audited the state-owned enterprises that are under authority of the Ministry of Industry and Trade
Press Release – October 6, 2010
From January to July 2010, auditors from the Supreme Audit Office (SAO) were performing audit operation No. 10/02, which aimed at state-owned enterprises that are under authority of the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Auditors concluded that the Ministry as the authority of state enterprises failed to meet its statutory obligation and did not update foundation charters, the supplements or bylaws of state testing institutes in 2008 and 2009.
Among the audited bodies were: Electro-Technical Testing Institute in Prague; Physical-Technical Testing Institute in Ostrava-Radvanice; Engineering Testing Institute in Brno; Technical and Test Institute for Construction Prague; Textile Testing Institute in Brno, and Prague Timber Institute.
Auditors scrutinized whether the Ministry of Industry and Trade fulfilled its statutory obligations. Auditors also aimed at management of the state testing institutes with long-term tangible assets, long-term and short-term fiscal assets, their cooperation with the authority, and the conformity among records in the commercial register, foundation documents and the actual state of the matters.
Insufficiencies within the field of long-term tangible property included for example putting items on accounts of different accounting periods, placing long-term assets on improper accounts, and incorrect records of the balance items. During the audited period, 5 out of 6 audited state testing institutes failed to inventory their properties in compliance with the Accounting Act.
“The Ministry of Industry and Trade as the authority of state testing institutes failed to meet its statutory obligations. The Act No. 77/1997 Sb., on state enterprises, states that the founder should verify whether the state enterprise performed its activities economically and effectively. Since 2001 till the end of the audited period, the Ministry did not perform such inspections by course of the said law“, said president of the SAO František Dohnal and continued: “Auditors found insufficiencies in accountings and property inventories of state testing institutes. The institutes did not suggest registration courts to change data in the commercial register immediately after the decisive facts had occurred“.
The auditing operation was included into 2010 Audit Plan of the SAO. Antonín Macháček, Member of the SAO Board, controlled the operation and prepared the audit conclusion as well.
Mgr. Bc. Radka Burketová
Press Speaker
Supreme Audit Office