International Journal of Auditing – April 2009
European Court of Auditors
Workshop on the Role of European Union SAIs in the Financial and Economic Crisis
In February 2009, the European Court of Auditors (ECA) hosted a workshop in Luxembourg on the role of European Union (EU) SAIs in the current financial and economic crisis. This workshop took place under the auspices of the Contact Committee of the Supreme Audit Institutions of the EU.
Before the workshop, the German and Netherlands SAIs and the ECA surveyed the EU SAIs on their role in the current financial market crisis. According to the responses the German SAI presented at the beginning of the workshop, all EU Member States have responded to the global financial crisis, with 93 per cent undertaking concrete measures. In 70 percent of the cases, these measures took the form of state guarantees and, in 63 percent of the cases, participation in the equity capital of the beneficiary institutions. Also, 70 percent of the respondents indicated that they have a specific mandate to audit rescue packages.
Some SAIs provided insights into their respective national situations. The discussions that followed focused on questions relating to the mandate for auditing banks, the potential advisory role of the SAI in this process, and SAI reporting procedures. Delegates repeatedly stated that a coordinated cross-border action is necessary to cope with the crisis. The experience gained in former financial and economic crises should to be taken into account now, and short-term measures should be compatible with the long-term goals. The explicit task of the SAIs is to ensure transparency and confidence.
The members of the EU contact committee stated that they wish to continue cooperating on this subject. For this purpose, a network of experts is to be created so that the auditors of the EU SAIs can quickly and easily share their experiences.
For further information please contact the ECA or the German SAI:
E-mail: euraud@eca.europa.eu, Martina.Hampel@brh.bund.de
Web site: http://eca.europa.eu, www.bundesrechnungshof.de