Auditor General: accountability to citizens must be increased

For two years now, the National Progress Report submitted to Seimas alongside the sets of financial accounts has not been prepared on time. This prevents the public auditors, the public and Members of Seimas from confirming the accuracy of the information contained in the report in a timely manner.

"Citizens pay taxes and therefore have the right to see, every year, how much progress is being made in the country with the public money spent on it. Every euro spent must bring benefits, which is why we believe it is necessary to monitor the country's progress every year. We would not be in favour of any possible considerations to reduce accountability. Transparency and accountability is a fundamental principle of the public sector," said Auditor General Irena Segalovičienė when presenting the findings of the audits of the 2024 State accounts to the Seimas Committee for the Future.

The National Progress Report prepared by the Government was due to be submitted to the National Audit Office for assessment by 20 April 2025, in accordance with the Law on Public Sector Accountability. However, on 25 April 2025, the institution only received the draft data.

Providing final data on progress in a timely manner would allow auditors to do their job. This means that Seimas and the public would receive more reliable data.

"It is particularly important that the National Progress Report is prepared at exactly the same time with the reports on state budget and the financial accounts. For the second year, the principle has been implemented in budget planning, following which, along with planned expenses, performance indicators are determined to be achieved with the allocated state funds. Therefore, the relationship between expenses and results should be maintained when accounting to the public,” assures the Auditor General.

To avoid recurrent delays in submission of the National Progress Report and to meet the statutory obligation to report to the public on the use of public funds and the results achieved in a timely manner, it is appropriate to streamline the processes of preparing and submitting reports.

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