Immigrant students and the effectiveness of basic education
Data analysis in education SAI Finland performed independent analysis to find out real situation regarding immigrant students' education. They found that despite more positive attitude than in case of native students, the immigrants' performance and education outcomes need more support.
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Effectiveness of development of broadband network or high-speed internet
The National Audit Office audited whether the state has made every effort to ensure that everyone can have unlimited access to fast internet connection by 2020. The National Audit Office also ... analysed whether the network of fibre-optical cables or the basic broadband network, which is built with European Union support and should guarantee high-speed internet connection, has helped to achieve ... this goal. ... ... ... Slower broadband paid by customers ... The Estonian Information Society Development Plan foresees that high-speed internet of 30 Mbit/s should be accessible to all people in Estonia by 2020 and that 60% of the population will be using ... superfast internet of over 100 Mbit/s. To achieve these goals, the state, with the help of European Union support, decided to establish a broadband network which is not further than 1.5 km from 98% of homes ... and institutions. Private companies have not entirely met the Government's expectations. The Estonian SAI has looked for an answer: Why?
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Audit of the key ICT project federal GEVER programme Federal Chancellery
During the first stage, two new GEVER (electronic records and process management) products were procured in an open WTO tender within the framework of the two-product strategy (federal GEVER WTO ... procurement project). CHF 1.6 million was spent on these. The departments and Federal Chancellery (departments/FCh) had to choose one of the two products within three months of the contract being awarded. ... ... Advanced process management system's cost-effectiveness and deadlines at risk ... Ever since 1990, sequential controls and file management have been part of the Federal Administration's IT landscape (GEVER business administration). Significant obstacles have to be overcome ... in order to ensure the successful creation and introduction of GEVER. Previous efforts did not have any widespread success and led to a diverse GEVER landscape. The federal GEVER project has now laid ... the foundations for simplification and centralisation.
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Extract from the report to the Public Accounts Committee on the access to IT systems that support the provision of essential services to the Danish society
The report is focused on the significant risk that is associated with inadequate management and control of domain administrator privileges, which makes it possible for unauthorized persons to obtain ... access to the IT systems and data of the institutions. Rigsrevisionen has not examined for what specific purposes unauthorized access to the institutions’ systems and data can be used. ... ... Inadequate management and control of domain administrator privileges ... The Danish report concerns the measures - taken by six government institutions of various branches of State activities - to protect IT systems and data that support the provision of essential ... services to the Danish society from unauthorized access, obtained on the basis of domain administrator privileges.
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Coordinated Audit on Information Technology Governance
IT governance needs awareness and SAIs' support The OLACEFS auditors found that the greatest challenge for the SAIs is to raise the awareness of the audit institutions about the importance of IT governance and the benefits that could be obtained by improving its degree of maturity. The audit was conducted by 11 SAIs and coordinated by TCU of Brasil. They concluded: 'It is important, even urgent, to invest resources to implement or enhance: the IT committees; the IT planning process; strategic IT planning; monitoring the IT contracting process; the business continuity plan; the designation of a responsible person or unit to manage security information; a risk management process; an asset inventory process; an information security committee; and a policy for access control.'
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Parallel Audit on Biometric Passports - Overall Results (anonymised)
A biometric passport (or ePassport) contains biometric information which serves to authenticate the identity of travellers. Biometric passport management is the process of establishing ... and implementing the regulation on standards for security features and biometrics in passports and travel documents issued by the member states. The aim is to develop and maintain efficient and secure biometric ... passport production procedures (see page 5). ... EUROSAI ITWG: Parallel Audit on Biometric Passports ... process is generally under control while a couple of high-risk findings were identified in the non-process-specific assessments. In the non-process-specific assessments, most of the countries found ... Swiss SAI summed up results of audits concluded in seven countries (Belgium, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Portugal, Switzerland). The evaluation of the reported results showed that the overall passport ... deficiencies and weaknesses related to the IS/IT system and the IT management. Medium risks have been identified in the area of laws and regulations, cost-benefit realisation and transparency, as well
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Management of Police Information Resources
. The objective of the audit is to evaluate information resource management and development control of the Department of Police. ... Police tasks of the necessary data are processed departmental registers, information systems, automated data processing systems and networks where information is stored, processed and transferred ... to the classified information. The police department has all of these information resources, so the audit focused on the activities and actions of the Department to ensure planning and organizing of the recourses ... ... Fundamentals of IT organisation ... Review by SAI Lithuania makes readers aware that nowadays it is difficult to develop a larger IT system without whole conceptual infrastracture: planning composed into strategy of the organisation ... and well understood architecture of information. Well functioning IT management structures, which on the other hand may sound trivial, were proved here as the key to success.
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Is the project 'E-health in Latvia' a step towards the right direction?
in the newly built e-health information system? 4) Has an efficient supervision and control of the project 'E-health in Latvia' been set up? ... Objective of the audit was to verify efficiency and productivity of the actions by the institutions in charge for implementation of the e-health, as well as to audit economy and productivity of use ... of funds invested in the project for achievement of set objectives and gaining the planned benefits. Audit covered such main questions: 1) Will the e-health policy be able to solve problems and achieve ... E-health is a step forward in right direction, but not all objectives will be reached! ... Project “E-health in Latvia” supports healthy lifestyle, it will provide valuable and accessible information and will promote more efficient provision of services to patients. It is undoubtedly ... a step towards the right direction then. However, as found the Latvian SAI, the e-health policy will not be implemented within the initially planned scope and deadline and within set data security levels ... , thus the objective of this policy – to promote more effective provision of healthcare services will be attained only partially.
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Conflicts of interest
First, recognise the conflicts of interest are a real risk the British NAO gathered a significant amount of intelligence on conflicts, particularly in the health and education sectors. These are areas of government where services are increasingly commissioned and delivered by parties at arm’s-length to departments. Conflicts of interest can occur naturally as a product of the way a system is designed and most often arise from operational situations.
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Central government staff costs
Results of staff reductions The British NAO found that departments had significantly reduced numbers of their civil servants and of course salary costs at the same time. But they reduced staff numbers mainly by minimising recruitment, and the age profile of the civil service has changed. NAO pays a lot attention to what effect this has had on the future pipeline of talent and skills. It reminds also that the departments need long-term operating models to work efficiently with the staff reduced.
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