TALLINN, 3 June 2004 - The State Audit Office audited the Annual Accounts of the State Chancellery for the year 2003 and remarked on the circumstance that in several cases amounts, which had been investments as to their essence, had been reported as current expenses. The State Audit Office also observed that the disclosure of costs relating to motorcars used by the Chancellery of the Riigikogu in the Annual Accounts of the State Chancellery increased the costs of the latter by 1.85 million kroons. Therefore, the actual current expenses of the State Chancellery are smaller than these reported in the Annual Accounts.
Other than the aforementioned remarks, the State Audit Office concludes that in the remaining aspects the Annual Accounts of the State Chancellery for the year 2003 comply, in material respects, with the Minister of Finance Regulation titled “Preparation, Submission and Approval of Annual Reports for the Year 2003.” Based on the results of the audit, the State Audit Office concluded that the economic transactions of the State Chancellery were, in material respects, in compliance with legislation. Transactions that did not affect the correctness of the Annual Accounts, but which were at variance with the law, are discussed in the report published on the website of the State Audit Office.
In connection with the audit, the State Audit Office would like to note that the necessity of the many guesthouses administered by the state is questionable, because the role of these buildings in the primary activities is insignificant and the expenses incurred in the administration of the buildings are economically unjustified. In the opinion of the State Audit Office, just a couple of guesthouses would suffice for the state. At present the State Chancellery owns five guesthouses, which cause a loss of 1.5 million kroons to the state each year. Also, the State Chancellery is currently building one more guesthouse. The position of the State Audit Office is that the future of these buildings must be decided pursuant to the principle of rationality – they must either be transferred or assigned to Riigi Kinnisvara AS, etc. One of the issues that came up in the audit of the management of state assets was that the State Chancellery has leased apartments to its employees either free of charge or at remarkably low rental prices, which is in conflict with the State Assets Act.
The audit of the State Chancellery was one of the 34 audits of the Annual Reports of state agencies conducted by the State Audit Office this year. All audit reports will be published on the website of the State Audit Office at www.riigikontroll.ee after completion.
Sven Soiver
Press Representative of State Audit Office
Telephone: (372) 640 0787
GSM: (372) 53 414464
E-mail: [email protected]
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Posted:
6/3/2004 12:00 AM
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Last Update:
10/1/2015 11:04 AM
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Last Review:
10/1/2015 11:04 AM