2017-07-07
The National Audit Office has completed the audit of the management and use of the universities’ property
The supreme audit institution has already performed several audits in the area of education, which evaluated management of science valleys, their coordination and the effectiveness of their programs, the development of educators qualification, the study and research programs development, etc. It is to note, that the aim of this audit was to evaluate the management and disposition of property by the state universities, as well as to find out whether the said property is used in a targeted manner – for research activity and studies.
The audit found out that last year the universities managed 1 768 units of real property, the value of which was 503.4 million Euros. The expenses for the maintenance of the property increase every year. Furthermore, in 2013 – 2015 the universities’ expenses for the acquisition of fixed assets increased by 77%, whereas, based on the data of Eurostat, the acquisition and maintenance expenses made up approximately 27% of all expenditures of the universities in 2014 and was one of the highest in Europe. The auditors noted that the audit of fourteen state universities evaluated the issues of property management, however, the conclusions of the audit, which revealed the defective financial and economic situation of universities, could not be ignored when performing the optimization of universities’ network.
The supreme audit institution has repeatedly stated that the institutions of the public sector should possess as much assets as it would be sufficient to perform the state functions. The assets, which aren’t related to the functions performed by the institutions, should be relinquished and the expenses for the maintenance of the institutions should decrease. In the auditors opinion, also in this case, if the decisions regarding the optimization of assets and their effective use are not to be implemented, there is a risk that the universities will not be able to ensure the proper management and use of property.
The auditors highlight that the effective property management is not only the sale of buildings, their rent and other relating activity. It is also a long-term strategy, assets evaluation and accounting. Taking into consideration the audit findings, the supreme audit institution recommended to the Government and the Ministry of Education and Science to evaluate the property optimization, which is being carried out in the universities, and the plans to do it, as well as to adopt decisions related to the more effective management and use of the property and the optimization of universities’ network.
The supreme audit institution has also performed the audit of the management of the state property, which was transferred to the public health-care institutions. At the moment, a systemic audit of all state real property is being performed and proposals regarding the development of complex state property management policy and solution of problems on the state scale will be submitted during autumn.