SAI and Parliamentary Audit Committee Relations – Estonian Experience TÕNIS SAAR Director of Corporate Services National Audit Office of Estonia

REPORTING TO PARLIAMENT no formal procedure of reporting to the Riigikogu (parliament), except an annual report by the AG until 2002 Act of the NAOE no special committee to deal with the reports of NAOE until 2004 need for such committee evident, but it took time and effort to establish it

Select Committee on the Control of State Budget established in February 2004 objective – to ensure the regularity, economy, efficiency and effectiveness of use of the state assets and budgetary funds by the Government and to execute control over the execution of the state budget in cooperation with the NAOE sessions of the Committee open to public not a standing, but select committee 6 members from different parties, both from coalition and opposition, chaired by the representative of the oppositon reports to the Riigikogu at least once a year

Duties of the Select Committee to review the consolidated report on the previous financial year, and the Auditor's Report thereof to review issues concerning auditing of the public sector to discuss audit reports and overviews by the NAOE and important questions raised by the Auditor General to inform the NAOE about problems communicated to members of the Committee by authorities and private persons to form an opinion, based on the information received from the NAOE, on cases of obstruction of its activities

Riigikogu Select Committee and the NAOE all reports of the NAOE submitted to the Committee the Committee selects reports that need further discussion the Committee asks auditee or other relevant person to the hearing, when necessary, a representative of the NAOE participates over two years of good cooperation between the committee and the NAOE

How to make cooperation of Committee and NAOE more effective? to change its status - into a standing committee to give more time for review and discussion of the audit reports of NAOE to have more frequent and thorough hearings of government officials to prepare Committee’s own recommendations and their follow-up to record the Committee’s sessions and improve public access

How can the NAOE work be improved? by improving the quality of the audit reports of the NAOE by providing the parliament with information that is most needed by laying more emphasis on performance audit in order to study programme’s outcomes by carring out audits and overviews with the objective to disseminate best practice

Thank you