Presentation by C. Ventura (English), Regional Conference for Supreme Audit Institutions of the European Neighbourhood South Region, June 2018

1. Promoting effective, accountable
and transparent institutions
through financial audits and audits
of the final budget accounts
Regional Conference for
Supreme Audit Institutions of
European Neighbourhood
South Region
The changing role of Supreme Audit Institutions in the light
of the Sustainable Development Goals

2. 2
Budget
and
Accounts
Reforms in
PORTUGAL
The
Portuguese
Court of
Auditors at
a glance
Context
Question
Taking
advantage
from
financial
audit
information
The whole-
government
approach
and the
SDGs

3. 3
Context
The Portuguese
Court of Auditors
at a glance
Supreme, independent Audit
Institution of Portugal
Court model, laid down in the
Constitution;
Makes part of the Judicial system;
Collegial body composed by the President and 18 Members (Including one member in
each regional chamber);
The members of the Court have the same rights and privileges of the Judges of the
Supreme Court and are appointed after a public competition;
The mission of the Court is:
To control the legality and regularity of public revenues
and expenditure
To appreciate the financial management within both
Administrative Public Sector and Business Public Sector
To control the application of financial resources arising
from the European Union

4. 4
General
Plenary
Sitting
2018

5. 5
Context
The Portuguese
Court of Auditors
at a glance
The organisation
of the Court
5 Chambers: 3 specialized and 2 generic
1st Chamber exercises a priori control
competencies and concomitant control of
acts and contracts
2nd Chamber exercises concomitant and a
posterior audit
3rd Chamber exercises the jurisdictional
function
Report and opinion on the General State
Account (addressed to Parliament ) and on
the Accounts of of the Autonomous
Regions (addressed to the Assemblies/
Parliaments of the Region)
Audit reports
Decisions on seal approval concession or
refusal
Acts produced by the Court
Legal
certification
from 2019
on!

6. 6
228.500 M€
Controlled
1 459 controlled
entities
3538 acts a
priori controlled
39 seal refusal
723 accounts
verified
3 reports and opinion
on the General State
Accounts (National
and Regional level)
78 Audits
357 complaints
analysed
30 Liability
procedures
initiated
26,1 M € 0,03%
TCP Budget Portugal budget
Context
The Portuguese
Court of Auditors
at a glance
Main 2017
outcomes

7. 7
Context
Budget and
Accounts
Reforms in
PORTUGAL
Budget system
reform: Step
by step
Evolving from
a traditional legalist and highly input-oriented system,
which concentrates on controlling expenditure through
very detailed oversight of budget execution, packed with
a-priori controls,
To a
more streamlined performance-oriented system

8. 8
Budget System Reform -
First Stage
Second Stage
Third Stage
A long term process
Developing a programme budget and a
medium-term expenditure framework.
Developing meaningful performance
information for programmes and
ministries, and designing and
implementing the necessary
information systems.
Integrating gradually performance
information into budgetary decision-
making processes

9. 9

10. 1
Profound reforms need:
Leadership of the
process
From the top to the bottom, a
responsible for each project
must be Identifiable
Dedicated teams and
resources
Project activities are hardly
compatible with day-to-day tasks
and resources (financial and
other) must be made available
Accountability Each responsible must deliver
Political ownership

11. 1
Projects for the implementation of the new
Budgetary Framework Law
Managing the transition of the different
entities to the new Budgetary Framework
… and where we heading to

12. 1
2015 Law Governing the budgetary framework
Budgetary transparency
Core
features
Public debt limit
Public debt limit
Budgetary Process:
Main documents
Stability Program
Bill on Major Options
Multiannual public expenditure framework
State Budget Bill
Discussion and voting
budget programmes
State Accounting Entity
Unitary treasury
Accounting system

13. 1
The Portuguese
Budgetary
Reform pillars

14. 1
2015 Law Governing the budgetary framework
Transparency
Budgetary transparency implies making
available information on the implementation
and execution of the programmes,
budgetary policy objectives, budgets and
accounts of the public administrations, by
subsector.
The information made available must be reliable,
complete, up-to-date, understandable and
internationally comparable, in such a way as to
make it possible to precisely evaluate the financial
position of the public administrative sector and the
costs and benefits of its activities, including their
present and future economic and social
consequences.

15. 1
Question
Taking
advantage
from financial
audit
information
“Powered by technology and
innovation, the audit has evolved into a
strategic opportunity that can help
guide and inform future business
decisions.”
Joe Ucuzoglu, chairman and CEO of Deloitte & Touche LLP
and leader of Deloitte’s US audit practice
The purpose of an audit of financial statements is to enhance the degree
of confidence of intended users in the financial statements.
There was a large hospital where auditors used data visualizations to evaluate the balance
of property, equipment, and plant – including location, asset, and transaction levels. The
auditors were able to give hospital executives specific risk assessments and insight into
depreciation and in-service data analyses.
Example:

16. 1
Question
The whole-of
government
approach and the
SDGs
The majority of SAIs control Activities are fit to give both insights
and foresights on the State of the Art of an specific Sustainable
Development Goal
The Audit work itself
contributes to SDG 16

17. 1
The Report and Opinion on the General State Account
a Portuguese example of an whole-of-government approach
Macro-economic and Budgetary framework
13. Complementary analysis
13.1. Characterization of the Pension System to be payed by the Social
Security
13.1.1. Target population
13.1.2. Average monthly pensions .
13.1.3. Pensions 'expenditure
13.1.4. Financial support of the pensions 'system
Examples of possible data to assess SDGs in this audit

18. 1
13.2. Unemployement
13.2.1. Overview
13.2.2. Recipients of unemployment benefits
13.2.3. Average monthly unemployment benefits
13.2.4. Expenditure with unemployment benefits
13.2.5. Financial support.
It should be highlighted the assessment of
social benefits in several domains related to
SDGs
- Poverty(RSI, CSI);
- Family benefits (parenthood, handicap)
In the similar report in the Azores egional Account of 2016