The SAO audited the state property under the management of the Ministry of Industry and Trade
Press Release – October 11, 2011
The audit scrutinized the state property, acquisitions and disposals of the property, and fulfilling the basic tasks related to the state property management at the Ministry of Industry and Trade. The audit revealed violations of Act No. 219/2000 Sb., on property of the Czech Republic, Act No. 137/2006 Sb., on public procurement, and Act No. 563/1991 Sb., on accounting.
The SAO stated serious shortcomings in connection with acquiring and disposing of state assets, including cases where such assets were not used in a standard way. Audited bodies, in violation of Act No. 219/2000 Sb., on property of the Czech Republic, are failing to use the assets in an efficient or effective manner to implement state operations or discharge their responsibilities or are curtailing the revenues from such assets irresponsibly. The findings from the concluded audit demonstrated the unsatisfactory state in this area.
The audit conclusion states that the Ministry’s accounting from accounting periods 2009 and 2010 was found to be incomplete, incorrect, and inconclusive in violation of the Accounting Act. In certain cases, the Ministry did not ascertain the current state of its long-term financial assets when performing stocktaking.
The Ministry divided up the public contract for the acquisition of passenger cars worth CZK 3.6 million in a way that reduced the amount of the contracts to below the financial threshold stipulated by the law.
The Ministry did not proceed in compliance with the Act on Property of the Czech Republic when baselessly curtailed revenue from the assets which it is authorised to manage by almost CZK 1.4 million and permitted a company to use non-residential premises for 5 years without legal justification and without requiring this company to provide deliverables (payment) in exchange for the use of the leased non-residential premises.
The audit found that shortcomings persisted in legal regulations on valuating capital participations of the state in companies, as had been stated in Audit No. 05/35 – Capital participation of the state in companies with their seat in the Czech Republic (published in volume 3/2006 of the SAO Bulletin) and Audit No. 6/20 – Closing account of the state budget heading Ministry of Industry and Trade (published in volume 1/2007 of the SAO Bulletin). Shortcomings in accounting were already ascertained by Audit No. 06/20; however, the Ministry has failed to set up a system that would put an end to violations of accounting regulations.
The auditing operation was performed from January to July 2011. The audited period was years 2009 and 2010; where relevant, the preceding period and the period until the auditing operation’s completion were also scrutinized. The audited body was the Ministry of Industry and Trade. The auditing operation was included into 2011 Audit Plan of the SAO under No. 11/02. Antonín Macháček, Member of the SAO Board, managed the operation and prepared the audit conclusion as well.
Communication Department
Supreme Audit Office