On 22 November 2022, the heads and other representatives of the Supreme Audit Institutions (SAI) of Moldova, Georgia, and Azerbaijan will come to the State Audit Office of Latvia on an official two-day visit. During the visit, they will also meet with H.E. President of Latvia Egils Levits and the Members of Parliament to discuss the role of SAIs as a constitutional institution in the management system of public financial resources.
The aim of the EU Eastern Partnership is to support the countries of Eastern Europe and the South Caucasus to facilitate stability, economic growth, and mutual trust in the region. The EU Eastern Partnership provides for various initiatives and forms of cooperation, and the contribution of the State Audit Office of Latvia to this partnership is support for SAIs of Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia in their efforts to become modern audit institutions that work in accordance with international standards of auditing.
This year, representatives from the SAI Azerbaijan and the Parliament of Azerbaijan also join the forum. The SAIs from central Asia are also increasingly willing to expand cooperation with the State Audit Office of Latvia to gain experience on the best auditing practices.
Auditor General Rolands Irklis states, “In the period after regaining independence, the State Audit Office of Latvia has been subject to serious changes itself by turning from a post-Soviet financial inspection into a modern audit institution that works in accordance with international standards of auditing”. “The support of the State Audit Office of the Republic of Latvia to the supreme audit institutions of the EU Eastern Partnership countries has become a targeted development cooperation policy tool. For the sixth year in a row, we are providing much more intensive cooperation with Moldovan, Georgian and Ukrainian colleagues within the project “Capacity Building of the Georgian, Moldovan and Ukrainian Supreme audit institutions in enhanced application of the International Standards of Auditing (ISSAI)”, explained R.Irklis.
By signing the Association Agreements with the EU, the governments of Moldova and Georgia made significant commitments in the areas of public finance and external audit development. Although a series of reforms and measures to improve the system have been carried out in the mentioned countries, the situation can still be assessed as a transition stage in order to achieve the planned goals and results fully.
The Forum of the EU Eastern Partnership Supreme audit institutions takes place within the framework of the development cooperation project “Capacity Building of the Georgian, Moldovan, and Ukrainian Supreme audit institutions in enhanced application of the International Standards of Auditing”, thus also implementing the goals of Latvia’s development cooperation policy. Funding for the implementation of this project has been allocated from the resources of the Development Cooperation Policy Plan for 2021-2023 administered by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
About the State Audit Office
The State Audit Office of the Republic of Latvia is an independent, collegial supreme audit institution. The purpose of its activity is to find out whether the actions with the financial means and property of a public entity are legal, correct, useful and in line with public interests, as well as to provide recommendations for the elimination of discovered irregularities. The State Audit Office conducts audits in accordance with International Standards of Supreme Audit Institutions (ISSAI) of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI), whose recognition in Latvia is determined by the Auditor General.
100 years of AUDIT STRENGTH
On 16 August 2023, the State Audit Law will turn 100 years old. With the adoption of this Law, the State Audit Office from a formal de facto institution founded on 2 December 1918 became a de jure independent, collegial supreme audit institution of the Republic of Latvia. The State Audit Office is one of the independent state institutions enshrined in the Satversme (Constitution) of Latvia. The Constitution was signed by Roberts Ivanovs as the secretary of the Constitutional Assembly, who was then confirmed as the Auditor General. He worked as the first Auditor General for 12 years. His signature confirmed the text of our Constitution alongside that of Jānis Čakste.
Additional information
Ms Signe Znotiņa-Znota
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Phone number 67017671 | M. 26440185 | E-mail: signe.znotina-znota@lrvk.gov.lv