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2007 Assessment

Bulgaria: Integrity Indicators Scorecard

Bulgaria: Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: Supreme Audit Institution
Indicators		Score
55	In law, is there a national supreme audit institution, auditor general or equivalent agency covering the entire public sector?	100
56	Is the supreme audit institution effective?	91
57	Can citizens access reports of the supreme audit institution?	100

Indicator and sub-Indicator Details

In law, is there a national supreme audit institution, auditor general or equivalent agency covering the entire public sector?

55: In law, is there a national supreme audit institution, auditor general or equivalent agency covering the entire public sector?

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Law on the Audit Office, [ LINK ]

Is the supreme audit institution effective?

56a: In law, the supreme audit institution is protected from political interference.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Law on the Audit Office, Art. 2 (among other independence-protecting provisions), [ LINK ]

56b: In practice, the head of the audit agency is protected from removal without relevant justification.

Score:

100

Comments: There is a seven-year-period mandate. Discretionary dismissals are not allowed. There are no reports in the media of attempts of governing majorities to remove the head of the office. Generally, this is an established and respected institution, as is its current chairman.

References: Interview with Dimo Grozdev (TI, Bulgaria) October 2007.

Peer Review Comments: The chairman is a professional, but he is always related to the ruling party or coalition, and they choose him from among their circle.

56c: In practice, the audit agency has a professional, full-time staff.

Score:

100

Comments: The National Audit Office has enough staff members who are well trained to fulfill its basic functions as described in the law. The agency covers all the territory of the country with its 28 regional offices, located in the 28 regional centers of the country.

References: Interviews with Georgi Ganev, CLS, October 2007

Peer Review Comments: The Audit Office has well-trained staff, but the number of employees is not adequate for all the asset declarations to be reviewed.

56d: In practice, audit agency appointments support the independence of the agency.

Score:

100

Comments: The current chairman of the office is a respectable person who has managed to strengthen the autonomy of the institution.

References: Interviews with Yonko Grozev, CLS, lawyer, November 2007

Peer Review Comments: The current chairman is a respectable professional but, when elected, was related to the then ruling party. The other members of the office are elected on a quota principle from the parties represented in Parliament.

56e: In practice, the audit agency receives regular funding.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: There are no media reports or any other sources indicating funding problems.

Peer Review Comments: It is funded by the state budget.

56f: In practice, the audit agency makes regular public reports.

Score:

100

Comments: All reports of the Audit Office can be found on its Web site, which is very well maintained.

References: [ LINK ]

56g: In practice, the government acts on the findings of the audit agency.

Score:

100

Comments: The government acts on the finding of the Audit Office. There are no important examples of the office's decisions being disregarded. If the Audit Office finds irregularities, other bodies start investigations (prosecutors, etc.). It is another question altogether whether these investigations are always successful.

References: Interviews with Katia Hristova, TI, Bulgaria, December 2007

56h: In practice, the audit agency is able to initiate its own investigations.

Score:

100

Comments: The AO has no investigative powers, only as an instrument of financial control. This limits its efficiency because it has to rely on the input from other executive agencies. Usually its review is limited to thorough checks of available documentation. The Audit Office has very limited prerogatives especially in the area of the control of the funding of political parties. Its chairman has regularly publicly complained of limited institutional powers in this regard.

References: Interviews with Katia Hristova, TI, Bulgaria, November 2007

Peer Review Comments: No initiative for investigations exists at all.

Can citizens access reports of the supreme audit institution?

57a: In law, citizens can access reports of the audit agency.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Law on Audit Office, Art. 2, 10

57b: In practice, citizens can access audit reports within a reasonable time period.

Score:

100

Comments: Reports are available online. There are no significant delays in the uploading of the information.

References: [ LINK ]

Peer Review Comments: Some reports are not yet available on-line. However, they can be obtained within a week after submitting a written request.

57c: In practice, citizens can access the audit reports at a reasonable cost.

Score:

100

Comments: Reports are available online.

References: [ LINK ]

Peer Review Comments: Documents that are not available on-line can be obtained at a reasonable price that covers printing, paper etc.