Current Issues
UN Panel of External Auditors and UN Board of Auditors‘ sessions in Bonn
Key issues discussed included: UN reforms in the fields of development, administration, peacekeeping and security, addressing conflicts of interest within the United Nations, fraud prevention and fraud detection.
Current Issues
UN Board of Auditors published reports for the financial year 2018
In early September 2019, the UN Board of Auditors (Board) published its audit findings for the financial year 2018. The Board, chaired by President Scheller, approved the reports at the regular session in New York held from 24 to 25 July 2019.
Current Issues
Audit of EU banking supervision: ECB and ECA sign MoU on information sharing
The MoU is a first step in the right direction. Both parties now have to bring the agreement to life. Independent SAIs need to have full access to relevant information to effectively audit banking supervision.
Current Issues
Information on Supreme Audit Institutions (SAI) in the EU and its Member States
The European Court of Auditors (ECA) has launched an online portal for information on the mandate, status, organisation, work and output of the 29 supreme audit institutions of the EU and its Member States.
Current Issues
Higher Education Compact failed to achieve key objectives
Less student counselling, incomplete reporting, funds not expended. We recommend concluding binding implementation agreements with the state governments. The federal government should only make federal funds available when they are actually needed.
Current Issues
Contact Commitee
“Digitalisation affects us all. Economy, state and citizens. SAIs need to help ensure that at European level this challenge will be addressed“, said Kay Scheller, the President of the German SAI.
Current Issues
Uniform IT systems in tax authorities are making slow progress only
Since 2007, the federal and state governments have spent more than €1 billion of budget funds on the KONSENS system. The KONSENS project serves to develop and implement a uniform high-performing and advanced tax IT system. The KONSENS project is facing more and more delays. We pointed out these delays in various reports and annual reporting items.
Current Issues
More effort needed to collect VAT on digital services in the EU
Member States should work together much closer than before to ensure that VAT on digital services is assessed correctly throughout the European Union. This is the conclusion that the Czech and the German SAIs have drawn in their joint report on the new mini one-stop shop VAT scheme.
Current Issues
Transition to clean energy – power grid expansion
Poor progress in power grid expansion puts security of supply increasingly at risk. We make a number of recommendations in order to effectively address this scenario.
Current Issues
VAT exempt cross-border supplies
Zero-rated VAT from the first cent has resulted in long waiting times, a high administrative burden, and inspection gaps. Therefore, the German SAI demands a value threshold: exports are to be exempted from VAT only if the value of the goods purchased exceeds €175.
Current Issues
Smart health card
The Federal Ministry of Health is to become majority shareholder of gematik. That way Parliament has ultimately taken action to implement our audit recommendation. We recommended that the Federal Ministry of Health should take a more active role when moving to an electronic health card. In our view, this will help make the process more dynamic.
Current Issues
President Kay Scheller has taken the chair of the United Nations Board of Auditors
At the beginning of this year, President Kay Scheller took the chair of the UN Board of Auditors in line with the two-year rotational basis. “We will continue to target our reporting closely to the needs of the UN entities and also address the progress of UN reform efforts “, Mr. Scheller said.
