The sitting was attended by the State Audit Institution Council President, Vice-President and members, as well as the supreme and authorized auditors who presented the sector reports and the State Audit Institution annual report.

The Committee members and State Audit Institution representatives were greeted by the Mayor of Novi Sad Milos Vucevic. He said he was very pleased that the Committee is meeting is Novi Sad, stressing that the city could serve as an excellent example of responsible local governance of public finances.

Committee Chairperson Dr Aleksandra Tomic said that Novi Sad was chosen to host the sitting as one of four cities with the most stable public finances according to the Financial Council’s report. She added that the activities scheduled for the sitting fall within the Committee’s duties stemming from the Public Financial Management Reform Program and the Action Plan for its implementation.

First off, the Committee ascertained the Guidelines for the review of State Audit Institution reports on audits performed on public fund beneficiaries.

In line with said guidelines, the Subcommittee for the Consideration of Reports on Audits Conducted by the State Audit Institution had a sitting where the supreme auditors presented their sector reports, on which the Subcommittee then submitted a Report accompanied by conclusions to the Committee.

State Audit Institution President Radoslav Sretenovic presented the State Audit Institution 2016 Activity Report. He said that in 2016 the State Audit Institution had conducted financial report and regulatory audits in 94 auditees. It had published 161 final reports on the financial report and regulatory audits, 93 of which concern financial report and regulatory audits, while 68 are reports on partial financial report and regulatory audits. He said that, as stipulated by the Law on the State Audit Institution, the Institution can remark on draft laws and give recommendations to amend existing laws. Pursuant to it, based on the 2016 audits, the Institution had sent recommendations to amend the existing or pass new relevant laws and by-laws to the competent authorities, which would, among other things, improve the Institution’s functioning.

Based on the ensuing debate and the Subcommittee’s conclusions, the Committee formulated a Conclusion Proposal on the State Audit Institution 2016 Activity Report which will be sent, along with the Report, to the National Assembly for consideration and ruling.

Pursuant to the Law on the State Audit Institution, the Committee went on to review and grant consent to the State Audit Institution 2017 Financial Plan Proposal and projections for 2018 and 2019.

The Committee sitting was chaired by Committee Chairperson Dr Aleksandra Tomic, while the Subcommittee sitting was chaired by Prof. Dr Vladimir Marinkovic.

The sitting was attended by the following Committee members and deputy members: Veroljub Arsic, Vojislav Vujic, Zika Gojkovic, Srbislav Filipovic, Zoran Bojanic, Goran Kovacevic, Radmilo Kostic, Snezana B. Petrovic, Zoran Krasic, Milan Lapcevic, Dr Milorad Mijatovic, Milorad Mircic, Arpad Fremond, Olivera Pesic, Goran Jesic and Sonja Vlahovic.

The sitting was held with the support of the UNDP office.