Auditor requires financial reporting quality in institutions to improve

The general audience, Vlora Spanca, on Tuesday has handed over to the Republic of Kosovo's annual Kosovo Budget Audition Report for 2021. This report contains the main results of auditing work, including opinion, findings and recommendations of the National Audition Office (ZKA).

In her address, the General Auditor, has suggested that in the auditing season 2021/22, the ZKA has conducted 133 audits fully implementing the annual audit plan. In their context they included: auditing the annual financial report of the Republic of Kosovo budget with over 2.5 billion euros, auditing 90 budget organisations, 12 public companies, 13 projects funded by the World Bank and other donors, 3 reports of compatibility auditing, of which 2 are reports of classified information (limited classification level) as well as 14 audits of performance”, reported in the report of the National Auditing Office.

It becomes known that the main focus of auditing has been on the quality of financial reporting, efficiency and effectiveness of internal control systems, the compatibility of decisions of subjects audited with the legal framework, as well as other issues involving the value of money.

This report says that auditing has identified major and more frequent shortcomings such as inadequate spending ratings, property management problems, unpaid obligations, poor development of procurement procedures and contract management, failure to collect cash accounts, etc.

The report shows that audits for budget organisations for 2021 have resulted in higher numbers of revised audit opinions for annual financial mirrors. Of the 90 audits of budget organisations, 46 have resulted in unmodified opinion and 44 with modified opinions. This shows that the quality of financial reporting in public institutions should improve”, the announcement said.

According to this report, in particular more rigorous and rapid improving actions should be taken in local governance and public enterprises, despite the fact that some progressive actions have been reflected in 2021.

Also, internal controls need to improve to be more effective and efficient in developing financial management processes.

General Auditor Vlora Spanca, in her address, has stressed that there is a positive trend of implementation of recommendations, but despite the progress achieved during 2021, implementation is still not at the right level. However, it has said that co-ordinated ZKA and the Parliamentary Commissions' efforts to increase the responsibility of the directors of audited institutions have begun to yield positive effects.

“actually increased the percentage of recommendations implemented by 45% as it was in 2019 to 50% in 2020. However, this level is not satisfactory, so further improvement in this area requires greater commitment of decisionmakers”, expressed. Spanca.