Audit of the key ICT project regarding a consumption tax platform Federal Customs Administration (FCA)
The Swiss Federal Audit Office (SFAO) audited the key ICT project concerning a consumption tax platform from May to June 2015. The programme was launched in January 2014 with a budget of CHF 13.5 ... million. The instructing parties were the management of the Federal Customs Administration (FCA), the Swiss Alcohol Board (SAB) and the Federal Office of Information Technology, Systems ... and Telecommunication (FOITT). ... ... First attempt to ITC consumption tax project ... SAI Switzerland analised problems steming from insufficient specification of a complex ICT system project concerning a consumption tax platform. The project's budget turned out to cover only 70 ... % of the expected functions. Suspension of the project and restarting preparations stage followed.
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Material–technical supply of the State Police
The main aim of the audit was to obtain assurance about whether the State budget funds allocated for material–technical supply of functions of the State Police were legitimate and efficient ... . The audit included inspections performed at the State Police, the Ministry of the Interior and the Information Centre and focused on: the Biometric data processing system and the Criminal Procedure ... information system. ... ... Essential role of pre-project evaluation ... SAI of Latvia reveals chain of events that lead to unsuccessful implemenation of two important IS of the State police. What started with an absence of the strategy ended up with budget, time ... overruns and an IS not ready for effiecient use.
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Audit of the procurement of ICT products with the potential to be standard products
ICT procurement system reviewed SFAO points out what is critical in ICT procurement. Requirements management is extremely important, as well as procurement strategies for relevant product groups. Legal rules should protect investments and support competition, but they can still be insufficient without appropriate reporting - if you want your system to adapt to changes.
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State aid for IT projects in social and health care
In 2000-2009 about 180 million euros in national and European Union funds went to finance information technology projects in social and health care, not including the costs of developing national ... information system services (KanTa project) or the National Project for Social Services IT (Tikesos project). Financing has been provided by the Ministry of Social Affairs and H ealth, the Finnish Funding ... Agency for Technology and Innovation (Tekes), regional councils (previously state provincial offices), and indirectly by the Slot Machine Association under the direction of the Ministry of Social Affairs ... Difficult coordination of IT projects ... Finish Audit Office analyzed results of poor cooperation between authorities on national and local level in social and health care projects: difficult integration of information systems and poor ... coordination of the financing information technology projects, including double financing.
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Use of consultants and temporary staff
New skills needed in a longer term UK NAO: Used well, consultants and temporary staff can be an important source of specialist skills and capabilities that are uneconomic for departments to maintain in their permanent staff. Since 2009-10, the government has used spending controls to reduce its use of consultants and temporary staff, and by 2014-15 spending had fallen by £1.5 billion. However, spending has increased by between £400 million and £600 million since 2011-12, suggesting that this was more of a short-term reduction than a sustainable strategy. In the longer term, departments will need to develop workforce, skills and capacity plans to reduce their dependence on external skills. They will need to improve their strategic workforce planning to determine where they can deploy existing staff, where they need to recruit, and where they need to engage temporary resources. Without this, departments cannot demonstrate that they are achieving value for money from the use of consultants and temporary staff.
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Federal Human Resources Data
Internal control weaknesses may put mission at risk GAO audited the Enterprise Human Resources Integration payroll data warehose. The American auditors pointed at problems that may impede 'leverage of these data to meet its mission and allow others to make full use' of them. The critical internal contols areas to be improved in this cas are: completeness, accuracy, and validity of information, authorization, documentation, monitoring, results' evaluation.
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