Important International Joint and Parallel Audits

The joint audit of using the funds of the Union State budget allocated in 2011-2013 to the implementation of the joint program “Development of Advanced Resource-Saving Environmentally-Friendly Technologies and Equipment for Production of Biologically Complete Combined Feed” is being carried out together with the State Control Committee of the Republic of Belarus. The control activity is at its final stage. The findings of the joint audit are planned to be reviewed at the joint meeting of the collegiums of the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation and the State Control Committee of the Republic of Belarus to be held in Minsk on March 4, 2014.

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The control activity “Joint Audit by the State Control Committee of the Republic of Belarus, the Accounts Committee for Control over Execution of the Republican Budget of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation of Compliance in 2012 by the Competent Authorities of the Republic of Belarus, Republic of Kazakhstan and Russian Federation with the Agreement on the Establishment and Application in the Customs Union of the Procedure for Crediting and Distribution of Import Customs Duties (other equivalent duties, taxes and charges)” is being carried out together with the State Control Committee of the Republic of Belarus and the Accounts Committee for Control over Execution of the Republican Budget of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

The multilateral control activity is at its final stage. The findings of the joint audit are planned to be reviewed at the joint meeting of the collegiums of the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation and the State Control Committee of the Republic of Belarus to be held in Minsk on March 4, 2014.

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In 2013, the Accounts Chamber, together with the SAI of Vietnam, launched a parallel control activity on the audit of the initial stage of the investment project on the Ninh Thuận-1 nuclear power plant construction. At present, the audit is at its final stage. The exchange of final materials of the parties based on the findings of the control activity is scheduled for March 2014.

The implementation of this investment project is planned to be controlled by the SAIs of Russia and Vietnam until the completion of the Ninh Thuận-1 nuclear power plant construction.

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The parallel audit of the implementation of the provisions of the Agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Republic of Latvia on the International Road Service of February 22, 1995 is being carried out. The control activity is at its final stage. The Summary of the Accounts Chamber, as well as the draft of materials of the Russian part of the Joint Information Report on the findings of the audit were approved at the Collegium of the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation and sent to the SAI of Latvia. A joint information report will be drafted on the base of these documents, as well as of the materials of the Latvian part of the audit.

This joint final document is scheduled to be presented for review in March 2014 at the national meetings of the Collegium of the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation and the State Audit Office of the Republic of Latvia.

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A bilateral control activity is being implemented together with the Office of Auditor General of Norway: “Parallel Audit by the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation and the Office of Auditor General of Norway of the Efficiency of the Using the Public Funds Allocated to Ensure Radiation Safety of People and Protect Environment against Radioactive Contamination, as well as the Timeliness of Implementation of Intergovernmental Russian-Norwegian Agreements to Minimize the Effects of Radioactive Contamination” (together with the Control and Accounting Chamber of the Murmansk Region).

The aim of the audit was to assess the efficiency of implementation of the results of the previous audits carried out in 2009 and 2010 in terms of the efficient use of the public funds of the Kingdom of Norway, compliance with the legislation in the sphere of environment protection and international agreements in the area of protection of human health and environment against radioactive contamination.

The audit was carried out in April - September 2013. The national report on the findings of the audit was approved at the meeting of the Collegium of the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation on September 19, 2013.

At present, working groups of the SAIs of Norway and Russia are coordinating the text of the draft Memorandum on the findings of the audit. On March 28, 2014, the draft final document is scheduled to be submitted to the Collegium of the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation. The Memorandum is planned to be signed by the heads of the SAIs of the two countries by exchanging documents through diplomatic channels or on the sidelines of the Hague events within the period of the IX EUROSAI Congress (June 16-19, 2014).

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A parallel control activity is being carried out with joint participation of several supreme audit institutions: “Multilateral Audit of the Efficiency of Implementation and Performance by the Arctic Council Member States of the Recommendations of the Arctic Council in the Field of Ensuring Protection of the Environment and Sustainable Development in Arctic (with participation of supreme audit institutions of the Arctic States and control and accounting bodies of constituent entities of the Russian Federation, located in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation)” (hereinafter referred to as the “multilateral audit”).

The SAIs of Russia and Norway are the coordinators in this audit, where Norway is responsible for coordination of the work the SAIs of foreign participants and observers (SAIs of Canada, Iceland and Finland).

Besides, the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation is carrying out this activity with the participation of control and accounting bodies of the Murmansk and Arkhangelsk Regions, the Nenets, Yamalo-Nenets and Chukotka Autonomous Okrugs, the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) and the Krasnoyarsk Krai. The work is based on the Unified Multilateral Audit Program agreed upon with all control and accounting bodies of Arctic constituent entities of the Russian Federation.

In the framework of preparation of the draft Joint Memorandum on the audit findings, the meeting of the working groups of the multilateral audit coordinators is scheduled to be held on February 27, 2014 (Oslo), while the meeting of working groups of representatives of the SAIs of states participating in the multilateral audit is planned to be held in April 2014 (Moscow).

Signing of the final document of the control event findings by the heads of the SAIs of states participating in the multilateral audit is scheduled for June 2014.

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The Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation, together with the Court of Audit of the Republic of Slovenia is conducting the parallel control activity: “Audition of the implementation of the Memorandum on Important Projects for Expanding Economic Cooperation”, signed between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of Slovenia in Moscow on November 17, 2010”.

The purpose of the audit is to assess the status of economic cooperation between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Slovenia, with the view of implementation of the Program of the Memorandum Implementation approved on February 16, 2011, at the VIII Meeting of the Intergovernmental Russian and Slovenian Commission on cooperation in the areas of trade and economy and science and technology.

The audit was conducted from April 2013 to February 2014 The heads of the SAIs of Slovenia and Russia are planning to sign the Joint Report on the findings of the parallel control activity in Ljubljana on March 27, 2014.

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A milestone event in the development of bilateral relations between Russia and Kazakhstan was the audit of the Accounts Committee for Control over Execution of the Republican Budget of the Republic of Kazakhstan conducted in 2012 by the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation as a peer (so-called “peer audit”).

The final approval of the Agreement of the expert and analytical activity entitled: “Monitoring of Implementation of Joint Russian and Kazakhstani Projects in the Area of Power Industry in Accordance with the Agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan on the Construction and Subsequent Operation of the Third Block of the Ekibastuz GRES-2 (State District Power Plant) (Orenburg, September 11, 2009)” currently proceeds to completion. The Agreement is scheduled to be signed at the end of February 2014 by means of exchange of documents through field courier communication.

The purpose of the activity is to contribute to further development of cooperation between Russian and Kazakhstan in power industry.

The joint meeting of the Collegium of the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation and the Accounts Committee for Control over Execution of the Republican Budget of the Republic of Kazakhstan dedicated to the findings of this activity is scheduled for September 2014 and will take place in Moscow.

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Currently, the preparation is underway for the audit of the use of the federal budget funds allocated as humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian National Administration for construction of a general education school in Bethlehem (together with the State Audit & Administrative Control Bureau of the Palestinian National Administration).

Along with the audit of the use of budgetary funds allocated to the construction of a general education school in Bethlehem, this audit is also aimed at the acceleration of the facility construction (according to the Palestinian party, the project will be commissioned approximately in June-July 2014).

In the nearest future, the parties are planning to approve the draft Audit Agreement. The findings of the control activity are planned to be reviewed in Moscow in July of the current year.

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The parallel control activity: “Audit of the Implementation of the Agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Republic of Cuba on Granting a Loan to the Government of the Republic of Cuba to Fund the Deliveries of Russian Construction and Agricultural Machinery, Dated July 28, 2009” is being carried out.

This audit, which started in November 2013, is planned to be completed with a joint meeting of the Collegiums of the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation and the National Audit Office of the Republic of Cuba in Havana on April 16, 2014.

It is also planned to sign at the meeting on April 16, 2014, the Agreement of the Parallel Control Activity of the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation and the National Audit Office of the Republic of Cuba: “Control over the Execution of Funding of the Government of the Republic of Cuba Approved by the Government of the Russian Federation for the Purchase of Aircraft”. The audit will be carried out in 2014.