Audit on the operation of the “Ministry of Finance” Central Budget Chapter
The audit was carried out on the "Ministry of Finance" central budget chapter and covered the period of 2003-2008. One of the audited activities of the Ministry were the IT systems ... and their development and the role of the Hungarian State Treasury within the IT framework of public finances. ... ... Simple receipt: calculate costs, standardize data, divide duties... ... Hungarian Audit Office analyzed in detail fundamentals of proper IT investment taking into account problems of Budget Management System.
Full description

Audit of the Government, Government-guaranteed and Municipal Debt Management Information Systems in the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Bulgaria
The main audit question studied during the audit was: Are the government, government-guaranteed (SDMS) and municipal debt management information systems (CMDR) at the Ministry of Finance effective ... ? The audit covered the period from 01.01.2013 to 31.12.2013 and investigated four major areas: IT system strategy and general management; IT security and controls against disasters; Operational controls ... and Documentation; Application Controls. ... ... Even effective and modern IT systems require improvements and updates to ensure their security and accountability ... For the management of the government, government-guaranteed and municipal debt the Ministry of Finance has established an advanced integrated information infrastructure. According to Bulgarian SAI ... the established system is effective and provides updated, complete and correct information. Nevertheless the audit report points out areas of security, application controls as well as documentation as the subjects ... that need further improvement and optimization.
Full description

Homelessness
Homelessness grows despite increased spendings to reduce it British NAO analyses the root-causes of unsuccessful effort to reduce homelessness in England. They point at a side effect of the Goverment reform of welfare reform and at lack of full impact assessment.
Full description

Relocation of government jobs
Difficult experience of relocation of jobs The Danish government decided to move almost 4 thousand government jobs away from the metropolitan area. The purpose of the relocation was to attain a better balance and development across Denmark and ensure that government institutions were located close to the citizens and businesses. Study of the SAI Denmark shows that overall, the departments have implemented the whole operation in an appropriate manner. At the same time, however, the relocation had negative consequences for the institutions’ production which has also affected citizens and businesses.
Full description

Working of Inland Container Depots and Container Freight Stations
NEW! Online report on audit of SAI India With this first digital audit report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, new chapter has been opened in our profession: the online form is primary versus printable pdf. Advantages: high level of readability, live responsive charts, easy browsing and search of what users find interesting. The reported performance audit concerned 'dry ports', or multimodal logistics centres, which play growing role in domestic and international trade. It shows how gaps in concept and lax attitude to internal control can result on capacities, speed of trade, and enviromental safety.
Full description

Housing in England: overview
Efforts to support housing Even if housebuilding in England has not kept pace with need and there has been a reduction in social rented homes, significant advantages can be enjoyed: an increase in home ownership and in the number of private rented homes. The quality of housing improved in recent years too. The National Audit Office has reviewed critical elements of the housing being one of the government's key priorities. Looking for risks, they found that a potential conflict of objectives can lead to tensions in delivery.
Full description

The Shared Services Centre
The necessary environment for the efficient management of the Shared Service Center is lacking The department's administration of the Shared Services Centre (SSC) has been effective for sharing resources between the departments and delivering selected back-office services to a small client base. However, the governance arrangements established to oversight the SSC have not positioned it well for the future and the departments have not yet determined if the arrangement is efficient and resulting in savings. ANAO found instances where the advisory board of SSC was not consulted or involved in decisions relating to the strategic direction, financial arrangements and expenditure priorities. Information reported to the board did not focus on areas of strategic importance and the quality and completeness of this information could be improved. The mechanisms established for setting out responsibilities and obligations and ensuring transparency for services delivered by the SSC was weak. Service standards and levels were not fixed and can change. The delineation of responsibilities between the SSC and its clients was not clear and there was no commitment by the SSC to certify the quality of its control framework.
Full description

FEMA Needs to Address Management Weaknesses to Improve Its Systems
Controls in emergency management GAO audited the agency of the Department of Homeland Security, responsible for federal efforts to mitigate, respond to, and recover from disasters. American auditors recommend that the agency fully define its investment board’s roles and responsibilities and procedures for selecting and overseeing investments, update its strategic plan and complete plans for IT modernization, and establish time frames for completing workforce planning efforts. The agency should also establish policies and guidance for implementing key IT management controls.
Full description

Australian Taxation Office: Administration of Australian Business Number Registrations
More elligibility and data integrity needed The Australian Business Number (ABN) and Australian Business Register initiatives were implemented as part of theGovernment's comprehensive reform of the taxation system in 2000. Their introduction involved challenging issues of technology and governance , including the imperative to process and register significant numbers of applications in a short time. Overall, the Australian SAI concluded that the ABN registration process is operating effectively. However, matters relating to the eligibility of some ABN applicants need to be reviewed. Further, some data integrity issues remain outstanding.
Full description