2013 ‘a challenging year’ for the National Audit Office

2013 proved to be a “challenging year” for the National Audit Office not least due to the Auditor General’s report on Enemalta’s fuel procurement. The report itself attracted significant media and public interest and was amply discussed in the parliamentary select committee, the Public Accounts Committee.

The PAC’s discussion on this report is still ongoing, having now delved into the oil scandal as it was revealed by MaltaToday last year.

A second complex report carried out by the NAO was on the assessment of the macroeconomic forecasts on the Maltese economy prepared by the Ministry of Finance.

The report was requested by the Finance Minister to be presented to the European Commission. A first of its kind, NAO presented its views on the reliability of this forecast and on the methodology used in its preparation.

In an overview of the works and activities of the NAO, Auditor General Anthony Mifsud said the role of his office was to improve the performance and accountability of the public sector.

This is done through independent reporting on government financial statement, operations, programmes and activities.

“My office’s unique view of the entire public sector puts us in a very good position to help improve the performance of the public sector and promote good accountability for that performance,” Mifsud said.

During 2013, 38 employees were assigned audit work, 19 of which were assigned to the section responsible for financial and compliance audits.