1. NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN THE STATE AUDIT OFFICE OF THE REPUBLIC OF LATVIA Ieva Braumfelde Director of Audit Department 04.09.2008. State Audit Office of the Republic of Latvia 13 k-5 Skanstes Street, Riga, LV-1013 Telephone: +371 67017500 Fax: +371 67017673 E-mail: lrvk@lrvk.gov.lv Home page: http://www.lrvk.gov.lv

2. 2 Implementation of the State Audit Office Strategic Development Plan 2006-2009 Based on mid-term evaluation, the Strategic Development Plan was updated in December 2007 – new objectives and achievable results were established that are directed towards the development and work quality improvement of the SAO

3. 3 Objectives of the State Audit Office Strategic Development Plan 2006-2009  Objective 1 – Improvement of the audit work of the SAO  Objective 2 – Development of the SAO resources  Objective 3 – Strengthening communication and cooperation of the SAO

4. 4 Improvement of the audit work of the SAO (1) Quality management system (QMS) established as integral part of SAO work: –Process descriptions for main and support processes approved –QMS manual developed –Feedback for all ongoing activities ensured

5. 5 Improvement of the audit work of the SAO (2) TeamMate fully implemented –TEC in use across the office from January 2008 –TeamSchedule in use across the office from August 2008 –From September 2008 all audit teams conduct financial audits in EWP

6. 6 Improvement of the audit work of the SAO (3)  IDEA widely used in audits  New approach to the audit of consolidated annual accounts introduced Single audit team established

7. 7 Development of the SAO resources  In-house training system established, potential financial, legality and performance audit trainers identified and trained  Training programmes developed and approved for: –all levels of audit staff –potential managers –IT use in audits  Agreement with 2 universities concluded on attraction of employees

8. 8 Strengthening communication and cooperation of the SAO (1)  Involvement of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in audits, e.g., –Sector related NGOs: WWF, Latvian Forest Owners’ Association, Latvian Forest Industry Federation –General NGOs: Transparency International Latvia  In cooperation with Saeima’s Public Expenditure and Audit Committee in 2008: –16 audit results reviewed –Implementation of recommendations of 12 previously completed audits monitored

9. 9 Strengthening communication and cooperation of the SAO (2) Intensified international cooperation and multiplied the amount of parallel audits, e.g. –On goods and other item movement across Latvia – Russia border control points –On administration of Enterprise Income Tax relief and administration of reduced VAT rate (allowances) –On compliance of management and supervision of fisheries sector with the requirements of EU regulatory enactments

10. 10 Thank you for attention! The State Audit Office of the Republic of Latvia Phone: +371 7017500 Fax: +371 7017673 E-mail: lrvk@lrvk.gov.lv