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Swiss Federal Audit Office publishes its 2015 annual report
Bern, 9 May 2015 – The Finance Delegation and the Federal Council have acknowledged the 2015 annual report of the Swiss Federal Audit Office (SFAO). Last year, the SFAO published dozens of audits and evaluations. Its work also enabled the recovery of over CHF 220 million connected to the collapse of Swissair.
The SFAO is continuing its efforts to promote transparency. In 2015, it issued 46 audit and evaluation reports, twice as many as in the previous year. It also gave access to a further 30 reports requested by the media on the basis of the Freedom of Information Act. The SFAO thus currently publishes almost half of its assignments.
The SFAO recovered some CHF 220 million for the federal coffers. This money stems from the loan granted to the defunct airline Swissair by the Confederation. For years, the SFAO had challenged the use of a part of the loan for purposes not indicated by the Confederation at the time.
Major recommendations still pending
Why did the SFAO lift its reservation on the Confederation's financial statements? How is it that the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport does not have a management mechanism for the real estate of the Armed Forces? Does the International Committee of the Red Cross use the federal contribution to its headquarters in Geneva effectively? What are the risks associated with current AHV supervision? Is the Confederation getting the best deal by procuring electrical energy on the free market? The answers to these questions – and many others – can be found in the SFAO's 2015 annual report.
As the custodian of federal finances since 1877, the SFAO fulfils its mission by auditing both the authorities and the beneficiaries of federal subsidies. Like last year – and in accordance with the recommendations made in the report of the Finance Committees and the Control Committees of both chambers of Parliament on the “INSIEME IT” project – the annual report provides a list of seven recommendations in total that those audited failed to correct by the agreed deadline. It also highlights special cases reported to the Federal Council in connection with major shortcomings. In 2015, the SFAO provided information of this nature to the Federal Council about the Federal Customs Administration, the Building Foundation for International Organisations, the Federal Roads Office, and, on two occasions, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne.
Max Spring sketches the SFAO ... and those audited
Last year, the SFAO invited the Lausanne-based cartoonist Mix & Remix to illustrate its annual report. In 2015, the Bernese cartoonist Max Spring took his place.
Information:
Michel Huissoud, Director of the SFAO, Tel. 058 463 11 11
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