“This is a serious shortcoming identified by my colleagues. The Ministry of Finance has confirmed that the Ministry of Economy acted incorrectly. It will now be necessary to rectify this mistake through a government decision, and the funds must be transferred to the state budget,” explained the head of the national audit authority, Ľubomír Andrassy.

To illustrate the issue, he added: “It is as if the Ministry of Interior or the Financial Administration decided to keep the funds collected from fines and use them at their own discretion without transferring them to the state budget.”

The SAO submitted this finding, along with the conclusions of nine other audits completed in the third quarter of 2025, to the three highest constitutional officials – President Peter Pellegrini, Speaker of Parliament Richard Raši, and Prime Minister Robert Fico. In total, more than 55 entities from the state and public administration sectors were audited. The Office’s analysts also published two analytical reports and an opinion on the development of this year’s state budget.

Auditors also found an error related to another transaction worth €500 million from 2022. In this case, the decision to contribute the dividends to SPP’s capital fund was made by the government in an effort to secure financial stability during the energy crisis and the period of extremely high gas prices. This amount will also be gradually returned to the state budget, with the first instalment of €80 million having been paid in November 2024. Originally, the repayment was to include interest, but contributions to capital funds and share capital are not interest-bearing.

“The accounting of the Ministry of Economy was non-transparent and showed significant inaccuracies in the audited years. From the SAO’s perspective, it is therefore essential to strengthen the Ministry’s internal control system,” added the head of the auditors.

SAO auditors also identified errors in the liquidation of state-owned enterprises back in 2022, which led to an unjustified increase in the economic result by nearly €47 million. Furthermore, auditors repeatedly draw attention to insufficient planning in the preparation of ministry budgets. In the case of the Ministry of Economy, this was reflected, among other things, in the fact that more than 260 external budgetary adjustments were made over three years, along with additional internal revisions.

The future of Slovenská pošta (Slovak Post) is under serious threat, and the state must act. The national audit authority has repeatedly warned that the company’s financial difficulties have persisted for several years. Between 2021 and 2024, Slovak Post reported annual losses totalling almost €66.5 million. The year 2024 was the worst in terms of financial results, with the company also holding four unpaid investment loans amounting to €51.5 million. Following negotiations, banks temporarily waived their right to demand early repayment of loans worth nearly €33.5 million. The critical situation of Slovak Post has been caused, among other factors, by the strict conditions of the universal postal service and a lack of modernisation and digitalisation. The solution depends not only on the company’s management but also on its shareholder – the state.

During the same quarter, the SAO SR also reported suspected criminal activity related to the digital transformation project of the construction permitting process, which has so far failed and reached a dead end. An audit of mental health care for children showed that this area had long been neglected, and Slovakia faces a critical shortage of school psychologists. In 2024, there was on average one psychologist for every 710 pupils, with some districts exceeding 3,000 pupils per psychologist. Three districts (Levoča, Snina and Medzilaborce) had no school psychologist at all. The respected National Association of School Psychologists in the USA recommends one psychologist per maximum of 500 pupils.

Another audit focusing on the education of underage foreign nationals revealed that Slovakia lacks clear procedures to support schools and, most importantly, the children themselves – a problem that became evident after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine.

In connection with EU funds, auditors reviewed the Interreg V-A Cross-Border Cooperation Programme for the 2014–2020 programming period. The programme was found to be functional and effective, though it suffered from excessive administrative burden on applicants and a slow start to fund disbursement. Delays were also noted in the area of road and bridge infrastructure. The latest audit confirmed that every second bridge on Slovakia’s first-class roads is in poor condition, and motorway construction remains slow. The investment process takes an average of more than 14 years, threatening the completion of key sections.

Local governments were found to behave more responsibly than state institutions when concluding temporary work agreements. This finding follows up on a similar audit from last year, which reviewed such agreements at high-risk central government bodies.

The gambling industry in Slovakia has largely shifted from physical venues to online platforms. As a result, the state’s revenue from gambling fees has increased, while local government income has significantly declined. A positive example, also relevant for other ministries, is the merger of six state-owned heating plants into MH Teplárenský Holding in 2022. Despite the benefits of this consolidation, key modernisation projects have been delayed, and the company’s investment debt exceeds €460 million. During this audit, auditors also identified a violation of the Income Tax Act, leading the company to submit an additional tax return and pay €4.7 million to the state budget later this year.