Mission Statement and Strategic PlanIndependent and ObjektIve In audItIng and COnsultatIOn

Mission Statement Leitbild

ACA‘S MiSSion StAteMent

ACA is the independent supreme audit institution for the federal, laender and local levels of government.

Our primary objective is to ensure the most effective use of public funds.

We examine whether resources are used in an economic, efficient and effective manner in accordance with the law and in the interest of sustainable development.

Our approach is national and international, our audits are integrated.

We see our primary service in identifying potential for improvement. Our convincing recommendations add value for society.

We will continue to pave the way for innovation and reform.

Our staff are our most valuable asset.

We achieve our goals through high-quality training and professional development.

We relate with each other in mutual respect and trust. We address conflicts openly and solve them as partners.

We acknowledge the achievements of our audit clients and provide con-structive criticism.

We liaise with academia as well as national and international audit institutions to foster an on-going exchange of experiences.

ACA's public reputation rests on the quality of our work. This is why we evaluate what we do.

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Strategic Plan

Content

ACA‘s mission statement 3

Preface 9

1. Basis 11

2. Values 13

3. Position 15

4. Goals 19

5. Auditing 21

6. Consultation services 27

7. Special tasks 29

�.1 Federal Financial statements 29

�.2 Income survey and execution of the law of limitation of emoluments of Holders of public Offices 29

�.3 disclosure under the Incompatibility act 30

8. organisation and Communikation 31

9. international activities of ACA 34

9.1 european union 34

9.2 IntOsaI – International Organization of supreme audit Institutions 35

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Dear readers,

The Austrian Court of Audit (ACA) continued its successful path as competent, independent supreme audit institution for the federal, laender and local levels of government and as General Secretariat of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) and realigned its Strategic Plan. Having evaluated its core tasks – auditing and consultation services – ACA pursues an innovative approach. Taking into account its independence and with a view to strengthening the position of public auditing, ACA operates on an interconnected basis at national and international level.

The underlying principles for ACA's own redefinition were evaluated in in-house projects by our own staff. Mission Statement and Strategic Plan describe our new identity and delineate the strategic directions for the time of my presidency. The Strategic Plan defines the strategic objectives with key performance indicators to quantify ACA's output and outcome. These key performance indicators underpin ACA‘s annual reports, which provide comprehensive information on ACA‘s tasks and communicate its concerns to the interested public. In its new Mission Statement and Strategic Plan, ACA has laid down the key elements and priorities of its work. The resulting transparency justifies the trust placed in ACA and reinforces its credibility.

Josef Moser President of ACA

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ACA‘s work, at any rate, is successful, if the general representative bodies (National Council, laender parliaments, municipal councils, utility associations and statutory professional representative bodies) acknowledge ACA's findings and implement its recommendations. ACA‘s achievements are based on the knowledge and skills of its staff and their excellent quality of work. ACA ex-pects excellence from all its managers. They exemplify the Mission Statement through their action and are to a large extent responsible for the successful implementation of the Strategic Plan. Their role model encourages their teams to achieve common understanding and act in conformity with the Strategic Plan. This will only work if all employees of ACA cooperate pro-actively, if they give their best, if they approach each other in respect and mutual trust and if they cooperate constructively to achieve the common goals.

I invite all employees of ACA to accept these challenges in a global context and tackle them with our partners all over the world in the benefit of the institutions we audit, enhancing the public auditing function. ACA as the supreme auditing institution for the federal, laender and local levels of govern-ment, as a partner in the European audit network, and as seat of the General Secretariat of INTOSAI is in the best possible position to meet these objectives.

Josef Moser

President of ACA

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1. BASiS

Goals and mandate

ACA has been set up as Austria’s independent supreme audit institution for the federal, laender and local levels of government. In addition to audits and consultations — its most important strategic function — it also performs further tasks of relevance for public policy and a number of notarial functions.

ACA fulfils its mandate — as laid down in the Federal Constitutional Act — directly and independently towards the general representative bodies of the federal, laender and local levels of government (National Council, laender parliaments, municipal councils, utility associations and statutory professional representative bodies) as well as authorised decision-makers in politics, the administration and the economy. According to the Federal Constitutional Act, ACA examines whether public funds are raised and used in a lawful, cost-efficient, economic and effective way. In its audits and consultation services ACA aims at achieving improvements or preventing mismanagement through convincing recommendations. To fulfil its mandate, ACA deepens its good relations with the general representative bodies.

ACA renders consultation services on the basis of its audits. It paves the way for innovation and reform, enhancing the quality and sustainability of public finances. It actively shares its knowledge and experiences with national and international working groups and bodies. It pursues increased networking between public auditing and academia and coordinates its audit programme with other audit institutions.

As supreme audit institution in Austria and as General Secretariat of INTOSAI, ACA forms an essential element of democratic control mechanisms and aims at increasing efficiency and effectiveness of government auditing in Europe and internationally to assure the best possible use of public funds – its primary objective.

Legal bases

The tasks, functions, organisation and position of ACA are laid down in the Federal Constitutional Act. More detailed information is contained in the Court of Audit Act. The rules of procedure of the National Council and the laender parliaments regulate the strategically important participation of ACA in the meetings of the committees and the plenary assembly.

At EU level, the Treaty establishing the European Community lays down ACA‘s audit mandate concerning EU funds and the cooperation with the European Court of Auditors (ECA). The shared responsibility for the management of EU funds demand that ECA and ACA cooperate closely in a spirit of trust maintaining their respective independent mandates and legal positions.

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Further development of the legal bases

There should be no gaps in audit coverage of public administration and enter-prises. For that reason ACA together with other audit institutions pursues the reinforcement of the pertinent legal bases with a view to strengthening public audit. In particular it aims to

• Systematise regulations concerning ACA;

• Extend its audit mandate to direct payments of the EU;

• Extend its audit mandate to all municipalities, including those with less than 20,000 inhabitants; and

• Extend its audit mandate to all enterprises in which the federal government, a land or a municipality holds a minimum stake of 25 %.

Considering the economic significance of administrative or constitutional re-forms, ACA actively promotes ongoing initiatives, such as operational and structural reforms.

To enforce its audit powers, ACA should in conflicting cases be entitled to appeal to the Austrian Constitutional Court to decide whether the disputed federal or regional regulations are in contradiction to federal or land jurisdiction or the Austrian Constitutional Law.

A further concern of ACA is to establish adequate sercvice and remuneration regulations for its auditors.

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2. VALueS

ACA‘s most valuable assets are its employees and their expertise. They represent independence, objectivity, credibility and equal opportunities founded on the rule of law. They live ACA‘s mission as defined in the Mission Statement.

independence

ACA‘s independence is laid down in the Federal Constitutional Act. Accordingly, ACA is directly responsible to the law and not bound by instructions from outside bodies. This is expressed in particular by the ACA

• Drawing up its own audit programme, which is predominated by audits ACA performs at its own initiative;

• Selecting its own audit priorities and audit subjects;

• Choosing its own audit methods and their further development;

• Applying a variety of different types of audit: crosscutting audits, individual audits, system audits, selective audits, follow-up audits, preventive or sample audits, audits backing audit missions of the European Court of Auditors in Austria, and coordinated audits with other supreme audit institutions;

• Reporting to the general representative bodies (National Council, laender parliaments, municipal councils, utility associations and statutory profes-sional representative bodies);

• President‘s entitlement to participate in the meetings and debates of the National Council concerning issues relevant to the ACA;

• Staff incompatibility regulations;

• Cooperation with other institutions; and

• Sovereignty of organisational and staff policy matters.

In all its activities ACA protects its independence. Therefore, a high percentage of audits performed at its own initiative and a comprehensive audit mandate are vital.

In its strategy ACA follows the Lima Declaration of Guidelines on Auditing Precepts (IXth Congress of INTOSAI, 1977), which calls for the organisational, functional and financial independence of supreme audit institutions.

Sustainability

Public administration and the use of public funds are based on the rule of law, and increasingly also aspire the attainment of economic, ecological, social and

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other political objectives. The achievement of these objectives, and their financing are long-term in nature. An adequate evaluation of their efficiency, economy and effectiveness must therefore also include considerations regarding their sustainability.

equal opportunities

ACA promotes and concedes equal opportunities to its staff by providing conditions for all employees which promote performance. Gender equality and the need to balance work and family life require therefore sufficient attention.

ACA systematically enhances its good practices in this respect –its training scheme for newly recruited staff and its gender equality programme.

The policy for the promotion of women continues to be an important basis for these programmes. ACA uses gendered language.

Disabled employees are equally important to ACA's performance; the number of its disabled employees is above legal requirements.

objectivity and credibility

ACA is aware of the fact that it can only fulfil its important mandate, if its employees are objective, unbiased and free from influence along party political lines in their work. Only high quality services that correspond to its recommend-ations, as well as proper conduct and appropriate behaviour render ACA a competent, equitable and credible partner. It acknowledges the achievements of auditees and respects their position. ACA raises its objections on account of collected data and facts and based on substantive justifications.

In accordance with its mandate and Mission Statement, ACA is a model organisa-tion and evaluates its work, increasingly also resorting to feedback and and external expertise (peer reviews).

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3. PoSition

ACA can only pursue its successful path and strengthen its position as Austria‘s supreme audit institution for the federal, laender and local levels of government and as seat of the General Secretariat of INTOSAI, if it meets the following challenges:

Challenges facing the ACA

• Positioning itself in Austria as the joint supreme audit institution for the federal, laender and local levels of government;

• Positioning itself internationally as the General Secretariat of INTOSAI;

• Quality and auditor training initiative:

• Active promotion of training and further development of auditors at university level taking the international experiences of ACA and INTOSAI into account;

• Founding a competence centre for public auditing;

• Enhancing the attractiveness of ACA’s work (adequate public sector em-ployment and remuneration law);

• Strategic human resources and organisational development;

• Evaluating output and outcome, e.g. by feedback of the auditees, by auditee surveys or by peer reviews;

• Increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of government auditing:

• Optimising the benefits of ACA’s audit activities;

• Using ACA’s expertise for innovation;

• Developing harmonised auditing standards and auditing methods on the basis of international guidelines including those of INTOSAI;

• Promoting timely project evaluation for large-scale projects (comparing actual costs against budgeted costs);

• Including the comments of auditees on points of criticism raised in the audit findings in order to prevent prejudgements and effectively shorten the statement procedures;

• Increasing the preemptive effect, especially for preventing corruption;

• Knowledge management;

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Challenges with regard to the national Council

• Expanding and intensifying cooperation between the National Council and the Austrian Court of Audit by

• Giving preference to individual reports over annual reports to facilitate discussion in parliament;

• Assuring consistent quality of the reports;

• Reducing the time span between the start of an audit and the submission of the report to the National Council;

• Clarifying whether motions by ACA may be considered by the parlia-mentary Public Accounts Committee in advance and may be incorporated into the report to be submitted in accordance with Art. 42 of the Rules of Procedure of the National Council or may be reflected in any case in this report as Committee findings;

• Further developing the legal bases, especially by

• Implementing ACA‘s contributions on strengthening public auditing to the Austrian Constitutional Convention and the Special Committee for the Preliminary Deliberation on the Outcome of the Austrian Constitutional Convention;

Challenges with regard to the Federal Council

• Cooperation with the Federal Council, even though consitutional law does not clearly define direct relationship between ACA and the Federal Council and ACA's participation in meetings of Federal Council Committees – in contrast to ACA's relationship with the National Council and the laender parliaments;

Challenges with regard to the laender parliaments (municipal councils, utility associations)1

• Timely reporting by ACA to the laender parliaments (municipal councils);

• Strengthening liaison with the laender parliaments (municipal councils);

• Maintaining a stronger presence of ACA in the laender parliaments (municipal councils);

• Placing more emphasis on how the laender parliaments may benefit from ACA involvement:

• Audit experience at federal, laender, local and international levels;

1 ACA acts as body of the respective land parliament concerning the financial management of municipalities.

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• Internationally accepted methods and benchmarks;

• Greater critical detachment;

• Tiered written reporting procedure;

• Coordination of the audit programme between ACA and the laender audit institutions;

Challenges with regard to the auditees

• Strategic choice of the audit topics;

• Competent, transparent and quick audits;

• Sound, convincing and realisable recommendations and competent consult-ation services;

• Including the arguments of the auditees and feedback;

Challenges with regard to other audit institutions

• Integrating ACA’s audit activities with those of the audit offices of laender, towns and municipalities, especially with the audit institutions of the laender and the City of Vienna;

• Coordinating the audit programmes between ACA and the laender audit institutions;

• Promoting cooperation and the exchange of knowledge and experiences;

• Developing and guaranteeing uniform language;

• Agreements on cooperation and common requests;

Challenges with regard to the european Court of Auditors (eCA)

• Coordinating ECA audit activities with those of ACA while maintaining the independence of both institutions;

• Avoiding irregularities in the administration of the use of Community funds;

• Promoting knowledge sharing;

• Establishing cooperation based on partnership and independence;

Challenges with regard to the use of eu funds

• Promoting audits of the efficiency and effectiveness of the use of EU funds to complement the formal audit criteria concering the Statement of Assurance;

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• Simplifying the EU guidelines concerning EU financial management and uniform use of the respective guidelines;

• Including the direct payments of the European Commission, which are directly paid to individual beneficiaries in Austria (without including public authorities), in the audit mandate of ACA.

Challenges with regard to intoSAi

• Implementing INTOSAI‘s Strategic Plan for the years 2005 to 2010;

• Strategy of ACA‘s international activities;

• Regular exchange of experiences and joint professional training programmes with international partners;

• Coordinated audits with other supreme audit institutions, which allow conclusions and improvements for Austria.

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4. GoALS

As the highest objective, ACA aims at the most effective use of public funds, i.e. cost reductions on the one hand, and increased benefits from the use of public funds on the other hand. It checks whether public funds are raised and used in a lawful manner, as well as in a cost-efficient, economical and effective way and according to the principles of sustainable development. Thus the ACA fulfils its mandate, as laid down in the Federal Constitutional Act, for the optimisation of income and expenditure, thereby striving for the efficient and effective use of funds in Austria and the European Union.

Dealing with conflicts of goals

In its audits, ACA checks how the goals were reached, but it does not criticise the goals. Its task is to audit and improve the implementation of regulations, but it does not criticise the legal regulations. However, ACA shows financial impacts, which could influence decisions, and conflicting goals concerning economy, efficiency and effectiveness, economics and ecology, for example. It provides information on financial impacts of these conflicts of goals for the decision-makers in politics, business and administration.

As independent institution, ACA always keeps out of conflicting interests and arguments of experts, for instance when it audits technologies and procedures. In its reports, it sticks to the facts without evaluating party opinions.

Disagreements

ACA submits disagreements regarding the audit mandate, which cannot be solved with the auditees, to the Constitutional Court for decision.

Reaching goals

ACA implements its Strategic Plan by means of mid-range planning and annual audit programmes. It evaluates its goals on the basis of its output and outcome. From these data, it derives key-performance indicators for strategically important tasks and their development. The key-performance indicators form the basis for planning and controlling as well as for reporting ACA's output and outcome. They comprise all services of ACA.

Key-performance indicators

Essential output indicators for ACA‘s core task, audits and consultations, are:

– Number and extent of audits;

– Budget and personnel of the auditees;

– Number of recommendations given;

– Financial disadvantages and improvements shown;

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Essential outcome indicators are:

– Savings or surplus income realised;

– Realised improvements;

– Number or share of implemented recommendations.

Growing demand for consultation services is also an important indicator. ACA reacts to this with performance tailored to the needs.

Within INTOSAI, ACA strives for further developing the key-performance indi-cators for public auditing.

Partners

ACA uses professional auditing methods and internationally acknowledged auditing standards. It forms an essential part in developing these standards with partners in auditing, academia and science on the basis of its experience and know-how.

ACA does not only view auditees and general representative bodies, but also other audit institutions such as the ECA, other supreme audit institutions, the audit offices of laender and municipalities as well as the internal auditing func-tions as partners in a government audit network. ACA has repeatedly recom-mended strengthening the internal audit function, which is often the first con-tact at the auditee‘s and which complements its own external government audits.

Audit institutions of the laender and the City of Vienna

The partnership with the audit institutions of the laender and the City of Vienna is reflected in agreements on cooperation, the coordination of the audit programmes regarding partly overlapping audit mandates, common training and auditing standards, coordinated positions and approaches for strengthening public auditing, to guarantee concerted audit statements (core statements) and a harmonious appearance of public auditing. This partnership is model for cooperation with other audit institutions.

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5. AuDitinG

use

ACA‘s audits are of manifold use:

They make the auditees aware of possible income and savings, of quantitative and qualitative improvements, and of avoidable disadvantages and realisable advantages. ACA thus paves the way for innovation and reform.

With thoroughly researched facts and convincing recommendations, ACA pro-vides the general representative bodies with a sound basis for decision-making and alternative actions for gathering and the optimum use of public funds.

The public receives transparent information on gathering and the use of public funds. The preemptive effect caused by ACA‘s audits prevents waste of pubic funds and mismanagement and thus corruption.

5.1 Auditing the financial management

ACA‘s most important strategic function is auditing public financial management. It stresses on supporting innovative and sustainable development.

Audit procedure

Auditing the financial management is done in structured audit procedures. The audit procedure consists of audit planning, on-site visits, draft audit findings, statement procedures, reporting, and follow-up. Concise descriptions of the procedure and quality standards are laid down according to international standards.

Audit planning

ACA follows a topic-oriented approach in its audits and independently draws up an annual audit programme based on its mid-range planning.

ACA focuses on coordinated audits with other audit institutions; it also performs coordinated, transnational audits with other supreme audit institutions on topics such as environment, infrastructure or finance.

Strategic audit focuses

ACA's audit programme reflects the following areas:

• All political fields of action (e.g. growth and employment);

• Complexity of the financial flows and overall economic view;

• Innovation and structural reforms;

• Comprehensive environmental protection (air, soil, water, noise);

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• Achieving justice between the generations (e.g. pension scheme, health, social services);

• Control systems and susceptible areas (e.g. levying fees and taxes, placing orders, procurement, outsourcing and privatisation, granting subsidies, …);2

• EU financial management.

Selecting audit topics

The audit topics are selected under consideration of the following principles:

• Special priority is given to the relevance to financial management, risk potential, scope of possible improvements, significant indicators, current events, special public interest, and preemptive effect.

• The audits are performed timely; with large-scale projects, financing, plan-ning, calls, and execution of the project are audited.

• The complexity of financial flows at European, federal, laender and local levels of government is accommodated with crosscutting audits.

• ACA uses its strength as federal audit institution for federal, laender and local levels of government and performs audits which other institutions could not perform or not perform as efficiently and effectively.

• ACA performs increasingly EU-related audits.

• After finishing the audit, general statements and recommendations can be issued to improve effectiveness and efficiency.

• By comparing organisations, processes or output and outcome, benchmarks are set.

Selection procedure

During audit planning, cost-benefit-analyses and problem-risk-analyses are performed, all audit-relevant factors evaluated and assessed according to different criteria. It is avoided to select auditees according to fixed rules (such as audit cycles).

To enhance its preemptive effect, ACA performs sample audits to include entities in its audit programme, which are chosen at random. This selection is an addition to ACA's risk-oriented approach and includes auditees which otherwise would not be audited as they have too little significance on overall budget expenditure, for example.

2 In sense of the Vienna Declaration on the International Symposium on Strengthening Global Government Audit in June 2006 and the conclusions of the XVI. INTOSAI Congress in Montevideo 1998

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Follow-up audits aim at enhancing the effects of audits of the financial management as they show the extent to which ACA‘s recommendations were complied with. Those recommendations, which have not been implemented, are pursued in audits.

Audit principles

During its on-site visits, ACA collects evidence according to the following principles:

• Significance on budget expenditure is considered.

• Tasks and goals of the auditee are compared to output and outcome.

• The cooperation with the auditees is characterised by respect and trust and a spirit of partnership.

• The performance of the auditee is respected.

• The arguments of the auditees are adequately considered.

• Deficiencies in the system have priority over single shortcomings.

• Prevention is more important than criticising past actions.

• Internal and external risks, which endanger an economic and efficient fulfilment of the task, are considered.

• The financial impact of regulations and the efficiency and effectiveness with which the legal objectives are reached can be evaluated.

Draft audit findings

The draft audit findings consist of the statement of facts, the evaluation according to the audit criteria and following the audit principles, and the recommendations. They are basis for reporting to the general representative bodies. The draft audit findings are written comprehensibly, coherently, and as close as possible to the report in form and content. If possible, they contain the arguments of the auditees. They follow the following principles:

• The draft audit findings offer a qualitative and quantitative statement and evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of the auditees and audited topics.

• The recommendations are oriented towards result, effect and future, they are realisable and offer – as far as possible – useful alternatives and innovative suggestions.

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• The statements and the use of complying with the recommendations are quantified where possible.

• The effectiveness of leadership, control and assessment instruments is evaluated.

• Mere descriptive statements of past actions are avoided.

• The core statements of ACA and other audit institutions are complied with.

Statement procedures

The auditees have the opportunity to give a written statement to the draft audit findings and to tell about measures already taken. If necessary, ACA replies to the comments. ACA makes sure that the procedures are fair.

Reporting

ACA provides information to the general representative bodies on its activities and reports timely about its audits. The same principles apply for reporting to the general representative bodies and for draft audit findings. After submitting the reports to the National Council and the laender parliaments, the ACA provides target-group oriented information to the public.

Debates in the general representative bodies

The National Council and the laender parliaments have budget responsibility, from which the right to auditing the accounts and financial management is derived. They do not exercise this right themselves, but use ACA, which acts as audit institution for the National Council with regard to federal financial management and as audit institution for the respective land parliament with regard to the financial management of the laender and municipalities.

ACA participates in the debates of the general representative bodies and discusses its audit reports including current developments thereto.

Follow-up

ACA checks whether its recommendations have been complied with and reports this to the National Council and the laender parliaments. It documents imple-mented and partly implemented recommendations and convinces itself of the economy and efficiency of the measures taken or reported by the audited entity (follow-up audit).

The implementaton of recommendations is documented and important informa-tion from the audit procedure is evaluated to safeguard the expertise gained thereof and use it in audit planning (follow-up).

Core findings

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ACA's core findings essential audit findings and recommendations and are published on a subject basis. ACA develops its keyword database on the basis of its core findings.

5.2 on-site checks in accordance with Section 9 of the Court of Audit Act

ACA compiles the federal financial statements on the basis of on-site checks in accordance with Section 9 of the Court of Audit Act 1948, where it checks numerical correctness and compliance with existing rules and regulations. ACA points out shortcomings in the system and follows up on the addressing of deficiencies. In its annual focus-centred audit programme it includes a cross-section of current issues.

The number of checks and the scope of corrections are significant output indicators.

5.3 Auditing international institutions

ACA also audits international institutions. International institutions are basically financed by public funds through contributions or guarantees from member states. It is thus of fundamental interest to Austria‘s international reputation that ACA performs such audits successfully. When accepting an audit mandate, ACA secures that the essential resources are available during the whole duration of the mandate. Auditing international institutions increases ACA‘s experience and know-how in auditing and strengthens public auditing. The number of audit mandates, the resources provided by ACA and the number of auditors with international experience are key performance indicators for these audits.

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6. ConSuLtAtion SeRViCeS

Irrespective of its role as auditor, ACA strives for cooperating in a spirit of trust and partnership with the auditees in its audits, to achieve compliance with its recommendations. On the basis of its audits, ACA provides consultation services by

– Recommendations during the on-site visits,

– Publishing statements on general problems of public auditing,

– Following up on the compliance with its recommendations,

– Reviewing draft laws and regulations,

– Participating in the debates of the general representative bodies,

– Publishing general recommendations, position papers and core findings,

– Participating in reforms and working groups,

– Responding to questions and holding symposia and conferences.

These consultation services add value beyond that of singular audits and sustainably enhance the effect of public auditing.

ACA‘s ex-post audits make it impossible to consult in specific cases of financial management beforehand. By publishing its reports, general recommendations, position papers and core findings, ACA enhances its preemptive effect and provides a sound basis for decision-making and practical guidance.

There is increased demand for ACA‘s consultation services. This is also reflected on parliamentary level by the increasing number of enquiries, motions and responses to parliamentary enquiries relating to audit results of ACA.

ACA reacts – as far as resources allow – by isssuing publications according to the needs, such as by publishing general recommendations and position papers and by improving its website.

Review of draft laws and regulations

Reviewing draft laws and regulations belongs to the consultation services ACA provides to the general representative bodies and is of essential importance. ACA resorts to its audit experience and its expertise and illustrates the financial impact and sustainable economy and efficiency (effectiveness) of the laws and regulations. ACA reports to the National Council once a year on its reviews of draft laws and regulations.

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After the laws are passed, it is evaluated in how far ACA‘s recommendations were complied with. This comparison helps in future audits of the financial management to audit the economy and efficiency of legal objectives.

The statements are fixed part of ACA‘s reports to the National Council and of its annual reports.

enquiries

ACA responds to parliamentary enquiries in accordance with the valid Right of Interpellation.

It responds immediately to other spoken or written enquiries in a courteous and factual manner. It always pursues hints concerning wastefulness or other forms of mismanagement by confronting the auditee.

Indicators for consultation services are the number of written responses to parliamentary and other enquiries.

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7. SPeCiAL tASKS

Further important tasks of ACA are:

7.1 Federal Financial Statements

ACA compiles the federal financial statements. They are fixed part of reporting to the National Council and illustrate the annual budget implementation, especially considerable differences between the revenue and expenditure appropriations in the federal budget and the actual revenues and expenditure. They present the assets and liabilities, financial position, profits and losses of the federal government and its agencies also disclosing the level of public debt.

The number of checks and corrections and the scope of allocations to cover higher than budgeted expenditure are significant indicators of the federal financial statements.

Regulating budget affairs

ACA participates in regulating budget affairs and elaborating the respective regulations. In this respect, it strives for outcome orientation, transparency, efficiency and a realistic depiction of the financial situation of the federal government and the laender.

Public debt

By countersigning all instruments relating to federal government borrowing, ACA guarantees the legality of the debt incurred and its proper entry in the national debt ledger.

ACA participates as expert in the Public Debt Committee.

The volume of debt incurred, the volume of transactions raising the short-term liquidity and the share of countersignatures of debt instruments are indicators for this task.

7.2 income survey and execution of the law of Limitation of emoluments of Holders of Public offices

Under the Federal Constitutional Act, ACA submits the income survey to determine average incomes and retirement pensions paid by federal government enterprises and agencies. It also reports on the execution of the law of Limitation of Emoluments of Holders of Public Offices in its report on the average income of the population and discloses the adjustment factor for incomes of public office holders.

These special tasks are fixed part of reporting and provide transparent informa-tion to the MPs and the interested public.

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The number of legal entities covered in the income survey, the debate in the National Council and ACA's media coverage show the output and outcome for these services.

7.3 Disclosure under the incompatibility Act

The Incompatibility Act obliges members of the federal and laender governments as well as under-secretaries of state to disclose their wealth to ACA's President. The President has to report any extraordinary increases of their wealth to the President of the National Council or the President of the respective land government. Under the Parties Act, the political parties have to submit a list of donations to ACA's President every year. At request of a political party, ACA's President issues a statement on whether the respective donations were declared correctly.

These tasks reflect ACA's special position and have primarily notarial function. The indicators, such as the number of submissions, are not disclosed by ACA.

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8. oRGAniSAtion AnD CoMMuniKAtion

organisation

With effect from 1 September 2006 ACA has a new organisation, which was developed on the basis of the new requirements originating from ACA’s realign-ment and current strategic reorientation.

The new organisation centralises in Directorates-General and specialised audit and expert departments. Related tasks and audit areas are combined to facilitate topic-related, coordinated work and audits.

Each Directorate-General contains the necessary audit and expert departments, which render services for ACA and participate in the auditing task of ACA by performing their own audits or guest audits. With this, ACA increases its synergies and enhances its credibility, as the expertise of the expert departments can be used in auditing and the audit experience and standards are of value for the expert departments.

By strategically aligning ACA to a common goal for all departments and by creating the corresponding organisation, ACA enhances the team spirit and corporate identity.

The results of staff surveys show, if and in how far ACA has reached this goal.

internal and external communication

ACA‘s communication efforts aim at enhancing its reputation and credibility in the long term and sustainably. ACA follows the approach of integrated communication to provide an unmistakable identity within ACA and in external relations. It is based on information tailored to the demands of the strategically important target groups and is above all directed to ACA‘s employees. The media form the important link to the public. Of special importance to ACA‘s communication efforts is its website which continually increases and improves its information share.

ACA analyses the effect of its internal and external communication efforts and assesses the necessary indicators, such as coverage of its releases, number of visitors to its website or answering time to e-mails and enquiries. The advertising equivalent quantifies the value of its media coverage.

Relations to the general representative bodies

For effectively fulfilling its multiple tasks and for effectively auditing the financial management, cooperation in a spirit of partnership and mutual respect is indispensible between the National Council or the respective land parliament and ACA.

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Therefore, ACA strives for continuous contact with the general representative bodies, to be able to discuss its concerns, reports and positions in a uniform and timely manner. Outside the parliamentary debates, ACA is open to answer en-quiries of the MPs regarding its reports. Thus, it offers the transparency required for democratic decision-making.

The number of parliamentary committees ACA becomes active for, the partici-pation in the debates of the general representative bodies and other indicators such as statements to the Incompatibility Committee show whether its efforts have been successful.

Staff and human resources

For fulfiling its demanding tasks, ACA needs qualified and highly motivated employees. Its high-quality training and professional development, its recognition of the achievements and its interaction in a spirit of respect, trust and appreciation ensures that all employees are fully motivated. Staff and human resources are of permanent concern to ACA. As performance-oriented employer, ACA strives for highest quality and equal opportunities. With the Professional MBA Programme Public Auditing it offers highest-quality training and professional development. The MBA Programme is open to auditors of other audit institutions and offices and promotes the exchange of experiences and the cooperation with other audit institutions.

The indicators in human resources are of special importance; data on personnel expenditure, number of employees, established posts, personnel structure and training schemes are also published in the Annual Report. Of course ACA also evaluates the use of its resources.

Quality management

Quality assurance is of special importance to ACA. Therefore it defines quality criteria and standards and develops them further. Its targeted selection procedure, its highest-quality certified training and development programme and its professional knowledge management are instruments for ACA to direct its procedures by means of controlling data. Audits of its internal auditing function as well as staff and auditee surveys are fixed assets of quality assurance. ACA expects to gain special use from peer review.

The satisfaction of the staff and the auditees are essential indicators for the effects of quality assurance.

Knowledge management

ACA organises the expertise, which forms part of its strategically most important assets, in a systematic and comprehensive approach.

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To optimise the transfer of expertise available in ACA's specialised departments, knowledge communities were set up for essential topics such as building and construction, data sources, financial operations and taxes, public grants, health, social and hospital services, public administration and administrative reform, audit management, accounting and public procurement. They enforce expertise transfer within ACA and foster expertise acquisition through lectures of and discussions with scientific experts.

Signficant indicators show the efficiency and effectiveness of knowledge management, such as the scope of the database or the number of participants in the knowledge communities.

Budget, infrastructur and it management

ACA strives for an economic, efficient and effective use of the resources and a sustainable use of the available means. Compared to the expenditure volume in its audit mandate (personnel and asset expenditure), ACA‘s expenditure is extremely small. Personnel expenditure comprises the largest share of its spending.

In times of growing demands, ACA does not only invest in human resources, but also in IT and infrastructure. The development of the space and function plan and an ergonomic equipment of the offices are important goals.

IT management is in line with the increased importance of information technology in audting. ACA strives for high quality IT equipment which meets these growing demands and the needs of the employees. Data security is of special concern.

Important indicators relating to human resources, infrastructure and IT are the absent times or the employee satisfaction rate amongst other; relating to IT, they comprise the use of help desk (ticket entries) or the satisfaction with decen-tralised IT help and user trainings.

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9. inteRnAtionAL ACtiVitieS oF ACA

9.1 european union

Strengthening eu auditing

Since Austria‘s accession to the European Union, ACA backs ECA audit missions performed on account of the annual Statement of Assurance (DAS) or on specific programmes or areas. The audit institutions maintain their respective independent mandates and legal positions and ACA report to the National Council or the respective land parliament on the results of these audits. ACA is committed to securing the financial interests of the European Union as external public audit institution independent from government and administration.

ACA aims at further improving the quality of internal and external auditing of EU funds by performing – also transnationally coordinated – audits of the implementation of the EU budget to assure – by effective and efficient control mechanisms – the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions and to increase the economy and efficiency of EU budget implementation. It follows the approach to

• Audit the economy and efficiency of EU budget implementation;

• Question the conception and administration of expenditure regulations for programmes and measure;

• Audit implementation aspects such as project selection and call procedures;

• Show possible simplifications of the rules and regulations regarding EU budget implementation including an assessment of the follow-up costs.

To sustainably assure professional audits also with regard to the complexity of financial flows, ACA strives for establishing a competence centre for public auditing in Vienna, starting from the "Professional MBA Programme Public Auditing" and together with the public auditor training course offered by the college of higher education, which is run by the vocational training institute bfi in Vienna. This is to

• Transmit audit approaches, standards, methods, and best practices (benchmarks) in a consistent manner all over Europe;

• Promote knowledge transfer in liaison between scientific research and practical work;

• Establish a field of research for "public auditing";

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• Ensure coordinated audits based on consistent, high-quality training for auditing EU budgets and financial operations;

• Enable positive feedback on the financial management and audit systems of the European Union; and

• Establish a connection between the internal and external audit institutions in the European Union.

Cooperation with the european Court of Auditors (eCA)

ACA backs ECA audit missions in Austria, on the basis of cooperation in a spirit of trust as equal partners, maintaining their respective independent mandates and legal positions. At its own discretion it uses the possibility conveyed upon in the Treaty establishing the European Community to participate in the audits of ECA.

The number of audits backing ECA audit missions in Austria and the recommendations issued therein are fixed part of its key indicators.

Relation with other supreme audit institutions

ACA conducts an exchange of expertise with other supreme audit institutions within the frame of joint trainings, coordinated audits and peer reviews

• To strengthen external public auditing in the respective countries, especially in the new member states of the EU, and

• To assess and continuously impove the quality of its own work by external comparisons and expertise transfer.

9.2 intoSAi – international organization of Supreme Audit institutions

ACA is member of INTOSAI, the independent, autonomous and non-political international umbrella organisation of the supreme audit institutions with more than 180 members all over the world including the ECA. In July 2006 INTOSAI was granted the status of a non-governmental international organisation under Federal Law No. 174/1992. Since 1965 ACA has hosted the General Secretariat of INTOSAI on basis of INTOSAI's statutes and with the goal of strengthening public auditing worldwide.

General Secretariat of intoSAi

It is an honour for ACA to host the General Secretariat of INTOSAI. It is thus the first point of contact for more than 180 supreme audit institutions worldwide. Further indicators such as international audit mandates, access numbers to the website of INTOSAI or number and size of the visiting delegations indicate ACA's international performance.

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Complying with this task enhances ACA's expertise by international know-ledge transfer and knowledge increase. It strengthens quality assurance of public auditing in Austria and increases ACA's international reputation.

Strategy of intoSAi

INTOSAI's current strategy was adopted in October 2004 and contains the following four goals:

1) Accountability and professional standards

As a standard-setting body, INTOSAI is to cooperate with organisations working for the private sector, such as the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), to establish and develop standards for the audit operations of different SAIs. This includes existing guidelines in areas such as environmental auditing, privatisation, performance auditing, public debt auditing, auditing of internal controls, and a “code of ethics”.

2) Institutional capacity building

INTOSAI aims to promote the professional competence of SAIs in emerging and developing countries. The existing INTOSAI Development Initiative (IDI) will therefore be supported by a newly formed INTOSAI Capacity Building Committee.

3) Knowledge sharing and knowledge services

To promote international knowledge management, INTOSAI is planning to intensify its activities in providing benchmarks, best practice studies, etc. Knowledge transfer is to be achieved increasingly through theme-based working groups on subjects such as environmental auditing, internal control, privatisation, information technology or the auditing of international institutions.

4) INTOSAI is to become a model international organisation

INTOSAI should be organised and governed with the aim of promoting economical, efficient and effective working practices, timely decision-making and effective governance practices while maintaining due regard for regional autonomy, balance and the different models and approaches employed by its members.

Austrian Court of Audit 1030 Vienna, Dampfschiffstraße 2

Telefon: (00 43 1) 71171 8450 Fax: (00 43 1) 712 49 17

E-Mail: presse@rechnungshof.gv.at

http://www.rechnungshof.gv.at