Performance Audit of the Georgian Government electronic Procurement system
of existing data through effective procurement policies and procedures. <br /> Having considered aforementioned factors, SAO conducted performance audit of the Georgian electronic Government Procurement system ... State procurement is one of the key components of public financial management. Its share in state budget is approximately 25 percent. Effective management of state procurements is an important sphere ... of interest for the State Audit Office. Considering the fact that since 2010 major part of public procurements is being conducted electronically and there is no alternative tool, uninterrupted provision ... ... Electronic procurement system - how effective are management and control mechanisms? ... SAI Georgia analyzed the electronic Government Procurement system. In their report they focus on compliance and security problems, which may harm the business goals and overall mission of the system.
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The National Government Service Centre – Has administration become more effective?
. These viewpoints have been analysed with a special focus on the conditions that applied to the Service Centre when it was formed and the measures taken by the Government and the Service Centre in the first years. ... The purpose of this audit has been to investigate whether the Service Centre has made administrative operational support functions taken over from client agencies more effective, and to find ... explanations for the results so far achieved by the Service Centre. The audit has also aspired to illustrate how agencies that do not subscribe to the services regard their potential for doing so ... ... Has Swedish public administration become more effective? ... The Service Centre – payroll and financial administration IT system for Swedish public agencies under the government – has achieved the target of a subscription rate of 25 per cent of the total ... number of state employees. However, subscription to the Service Centre was initially slower than the Government had predicted and meant lower revenues than expected in autumn 2013. The Service Centre ... then introduced a rigorous review of its expenditure, for example for some planned development initiatives for internal procedures and support systems.<br/>The Swedish NAO noted that the Government’s steering
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Digitisation of municipal services
, assessed the significance of and possible obstacles to digitisation of municipal services. The audit examined how the Ministry of Local Government and Modernisation's use of policy instruments contributes ... The purpose of digitisation is to increase the quality and efficiency of public services. It is a goal to make online services the norm for public administration's communication with citizens ... and the private sector. The municipal sector is a significant provider of public services, and digitisation of municipal services is therefore essential for achieving this goal.<br/>The audit surveyed the status ... ... Municipalities have not digitised their services to any extent ... , that municipalities need a substantial support to execute this demanding task. To provide them with help, the central government has to coordinate own efforts first. ... Digitisation increases the quality and efficiency of public services and municipal sector is a significant provider of public services. Report of Riksrevisjonen of Norway shows however
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Federal Agencies Need to Address Aging Legacy Systems
Be aware of legacy IT risks The US government spends about 75 percent of the total amount budgeted for information technology on operations and maintenance. GAO reviewed Office of Management and Budget and 26 agencies, covering years 2010 through 2017 and recommends to develop a goal for spending measure and finalize guidance to identify and prioritize legacy IT needing to be modernized or replaced.
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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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Incorrect payments in social insurance - Control activities of the Swedish Social Insurance Agency
, that it is well administered and that it is as free of abuse as possible. It must also be financially stable over time, since major fluctuations impact other areas of the central government budget. When ... /> The Swedish NAO audited the work of the Government and the Swedish Social Insurance Agency to prevent incorrect payments in the period 2012–2015. The audit focused on the benefits for which the Swedish Social ... a good picture of how the overall work of the Government and the Swedish Social Insurance Agency to prevent incorrect payments has been conducted. In the latest study incorrect payments of these benefits ... Balance of priorities needed to reduce incorrect payments ... Role of social insurance in public finance is so substantial that reduction of incorrect payments' volume is matter of huge savings. The Swedish NAO noted positive initiatives by the Social Insurance ... Agency in this regard. However they found also, that serious problems can stem from giving higher priority to the speed of payment and customers satisfaction. They both are undoubtedly important features ... of each system, still, the prevention of incorrect payments needs strategic support to be really effective.
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Information security work at nine agencies
Difficulties in achieving appropriate IT security Together with the Swedish NAO we assume that the picture that emerges at the agencies audited applies also to most of the other agencies in the public administration. The information security work is not given high enough priority in relation to the risks that exist. This applies to both the Government, which should have been clearer in its directions to agencies on this matter, and to agency managements, which did not give priority to the work of information security to the extent required. Much indicates that it is difficult for many agencies to achieve an appropriate level of information security work.
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Homeland Security. Oversight of Neglected Human Resources Information Technology Investment Is Needed
Human resources IT investments get stuck in management's lack of interest Although the Human Resources Information Technology (HRIT) investment was initiated about 12 years ago with the intent to consolidate, integrate, and modernize the department's human resources IT infrastructure, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has made very limited progress in achieving these goals. HRIT's minimally involved executive steering committee during a time when significant problems were occurring was a key factor in the lack of progress. This is particularly problematic given that the department's ability to efficiently and effectively carry out its mission is significantly hampered by its fragmented human resources. DHS's ineffective management of HRIT, such as the lack of an updated schedule and a life-cycle cost estimate, also contributed to the neglect this investment has experienced. DHS will be limited in efficiently tracking and reporting accurate, comprehensive performance and learning management data across the organization, and could risk further implementation delays.
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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.
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