Publications of the National Audit Office

Jaanus Kasendi | 12/4/2019 | 10:00 AM

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The National Audit Office prepares and publishes on its website or on paper various materials covering its work results, which are available on the subpages of this section. Majority of the publications of the National Audit Office consists of audit reports. Since restoration of the National Audit Office in 1990 nearly 2,500 reports have been published.

Audit reports are can be divided into three groups:

  • Financial audits 
    In the course of a financial audit the National Audit Office evaluates whether financial statements of institutions correctly and reliably reflect their financial condition. To put it simply, we examine whether the accounts are correct and possibilities of misuse of funds have been eliminated. Financial audits also assess the legality of transactions.
     
  • Performance audits 
    In the case of a performance audit the National Audit Office examines whether the use of funds by the public sector is economical, efficient and effective. A performance audit can also be defined as a process in the course of which it is investigated whether the audited institutions attend to the right thing and whether they do it properly and with the smallest costs. A performance audit evaluates the activities of the public sector in resolving problems of the strategic level, analyses the reasons of problems in depth and suggests ideas for overcoming them. Performance audits also aim to identify the best administrative practice and contribute to spreading it.
     
  • Compliance audits 
    A compliance audit assesses whether legal requirements have been met. This is a typical audit type used in auditing local governments, where the National Audit Office is not authorised to carry out performance audits.

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In addition to audit reports, the National Audit Office also uses other methods, mainly preparing reviews and memoranda, which are generally smaller in scope and may not include evaluations comparable to conventional audits.

In addition to ordinary audit reports the National Audit office submits to the Parliament three other reports each year:

Annual report by the National Audit Office to the Parliament

Each year the Auditor General submits to the Parliament an overview of the use and preservation of state assets. Each autumn the Auditor General supplements this analytical report summarising a year of work by giving a speech before the Parliament and replying to the questions of members of the Parliament.

Report on the work of the National Audit Office

Each spring the National Audit Office prepares a report on its activities and submits it to the Parliament along with the annual report and the opinion of an independent external auditor. The report contains an overview of the work performed by the National Audit Office over the year and whether the auditor of the state has reasonably and lawfully used the taxpayer’s money allocated to it.

In addition to the aforementioned materials the National Audit Office publishes also methodological materials as well as materials covering on economic audits of the Estonian state and development of the National Audit Office.

  • Posted: 12/4/2019 10:00 AM
  • Last Update: 1/22/2020 11:41 PM
  • Last Review: 1/22/2020 11:41 PM