Supreme Audit Office of the Slovak Republic

Bratislava, May 19, 2023 – Every fifth audit that the Supreme Audit Office (SAO) of the Slovak Republic carried out last year focused on the functioning of local self-government and its managing with public finances or property. Auditors checked 131 entities in 99 municipalities and 32 organizations established by municipalities, cities, and self-governing regions. Part of the audits was based on the evaluation of suggestions from citizens. According to the vice-president of the office, Henrieta Crkoňová, through audit actions, we regularly point out the fact that the internal control system of local governments is often superficial and does not focus on systematic monitoring of the fulfillment of goals, efficiency and economy of the use of local government resources. Many competences, especially in the transferred performance of state administration to self-government, are not defined sufficiently, which often has a negative impact on the strategic planning of the intentions of self-governments and their financing. The SAO appeals for the need to reform local self-government and increase its overall efficiency. This was also confirmed by recent audits focused on the collection of arrears by municipalities, the provision of aid in material need and the income of municipalities during the pandemic.

The full text of the press release about this issue in Slovak language is available here. Use the Google icon in the top bar for automatic translation.