Cooperation with the Court of Accounts of Moldova
The Swedish National Audit Office has cooperated with the Court of Accounts of Moldova since 2007. The cooperation has progressed from focusing on reinforcing the authority’s mandate, legislation and financial auditing to bolstering its ability to perform high-quality performance audits. Under the current cooperation, support is provided to strengthen the sustainability of the authority’s results in quality management, leadership and human resources and training.
Focus areas
Our cooperation covers several areas – performance auditing, quality management, leadership development and human resources and training.
Improving audit quality
In performance audit, our support aims to ensure that audits are performed to high quality from start to finish. We support the authority in designing its performance auditing from the ground up. Therefore, we are currently focusing on providing audit methodology training and coaching to auditors and managers. Support will also be provided for developing processes for conducting planning, implementation, analysis, communication and follow-up of audit findings.
We also support the Court of Accounts of Moldova’s efforts to improve quality management in line with international standards. The Court of Accounts of Moldova is to set objectives, identify and assess risks of non-achievement of objectives and take necessary measures. In this respect, we contribute expert knowledge and serve as a discussion partner.
Bolstering leadership in the organisation and among managers
Leadership development has already been part of our partnership. We are now focusing on developing the authority’s ability to maintain and enhance its leadership over time. We do this by providing support for developing a leadership policy and a training programme, and for training internal coaches in the field.
Developing skills supply capabilities
The Court of Accounts of Moldova has a relatively high staff turnover. We support the authority in strategic human resources matters to attract and retain qualified employees. There is a particular emphasis on training internal coaches, which reinforces the authority’s ability to offer continuing skills development.
Outcomes
Cooperation with the Court of Accounts of Moldova has contributed to several outcomes:
- A new law for the Court of Accounts.
- The Court of Accounts of Moldova has been modernised and developed to operate in line with international standards. Our cooperation has contributed to a more professional approach at the authority.
- The authority has developed a framework and a training programme for certifying financial auditors. This has laid a foundation for improved skills development and quality in the audit activities.
- The authority has evaluated its quality management system and updated its quality management guidance. Managers and employees have also developed their common understanding of quality control and quality assurance.
- Managers have enhanced their leadership skills and report that they have improved at leading, communicating and providing feedback to employees.
- The authority developed its first HR strategy and carried out its first two employee surveys, with our guidance. The employee surveys identified improvement opportunities in the organisation, work environment and leadership.
Circumstances and challenges
The Court of Accounts of Moldova faces several challenges. For example, the authority’s independence is limited since the government has influence over its budget. In addition, staff salaries are regulated by a special law for central government employees, which impedes retaining employees and filling vacancies.