The Supreme Audit Office of the Republic of Srpska Public Sector has completed the audit cycle for 2024, in which 91 financial audit engagements and 11 performance audit engagements were carried out.
In the structure of 89 financial audit reports conducted in 2024, relating to the audited period 01.01-31.12.2023, 26 reports relate to mandatory audits under the Law on Public Sector Audit of the Republika Srpska and eight to other budget users, 17 to public institutions and 17 to public enterprises, and 21 reports relate to local self-government units.
In addition to the aforementioned audits, one engagement was conducted to check the status of financial audit recommendations and one engagement to audit financial statements of the State Audit Institution of the Republic of Serbia.
The Supreme Audit Office planned the financial audit of the Institute for Construction a.d. Banja Luka, in the Annual Audit Plan for 2024. but it was not carried out because the subject refuses to accept the audit engagement and refuses to make available documentation and information, which prevented the implementation of the planned audit for the first time since the establishment of the Supreme Audit Office. The public was informed about this case through a press release, while the Audit Committee of the National Assembly of the Republic of Srpska was also officially informed in order to take measures within its jurisdiction.
Through 89 financial audit reports, 32 unqualified audit opinions, 52 qualified opinions, four adverse opinions were given for financial statements, and in one subject the auditor refrained from expressing an opinion.
For compliance with laws and other relevant regulations that served as audit criteria, 36 unqualified audit opinions, 49 qualified opinions and four adverse opinions were given. Along with the opinion on compliance in this audit cycle, the auditors expressed the so-called drawing attention, that is, they pointed to certain issues and facts that had no impact on the audit opinion, but which require more comprehensive solutions in terms of organization, planning or normative regulation. Such facts usually depend on future actions or events that are not under the direct control of the subject of the audit or refer to circumstances that the budget users themselves could not influence.
Opinions on financial statements

Compliance opinion

In the field of financial audit, a total of 938 recommendations were referred to audit subjects for the elimination of observed irregularities, of which 462 refer to financial statements, and 476 to compliance. During audit engagements, the level of implementation of previously given recommendations is also checked. The status of verified recommendations of the financial audit until 31.12.2024. year is as follows: 54% of fully implemented recommendations, 17% partially implemented, 26% of recommendations that were not implemented, while 3% of recommendations were not current due to changed circumstances (such as changes in legal regulations and the like).
Although the largest share in the number of financial audit reports (29%) is held by entities where audits are mandatory every year according to the Law, the number of recommendations given to these entities decreases as expected and has a relatively small share in the total number of recommendations (8%). The largest number of recommendations in this audit cycle (360 or 38% of all given recommendations) was addressed to local self-government units, which account for 24% of the total number of reports. In the case of public companies/business associations, the number of given recommendations is also significantly higher in relation to the number of audited entities, while in the case of public institutions the ratio is even (19%).

In accordance with the Annual Audit Plan, six performance audits were conducted and published, which covered 93 public sector institutions and resulted in a total of 49 recommendations to the Government of the Republic of Srpska, ministries, public enterprises, public institutions, local governments and other public sector institutions that are competent and responsible. for managing the processes and activities that were the subject of the performance audit.
In accordance with the established areas and capacities of the performance audit, the following six audit engagements were carried out:
• Building maintenance management;
• Formation of utility service prices;
• Protection of forests from fire;
• Protection of immovable cultural assets;
• Management of grants in local self-government units;
• Exercising the right to placement in an institution and the right to help and care at home for the elderly.
In addition to the aforementioned performance audits, five follow-up reviews were carried out, which provide insight into the measures and activities undertaken by the institutions competent and responsible for the implementation of the recommendations, the results of the implemented measures and activities, as well as the determination of the implementation status of the recommendations from the performance audit reports from previous years:
• Performance audit report “Prevention of malignant diseases” (published in 2019);
• Performance audit report “Professional rehabilitation and employment of persons with disabilities” (published in 2019);
• Performance audit report “Management of forest fees” (published in 2019);
• Performance audit report “Efficiency of collection and use of public road fees for motor vehicle registration” (published in 2020);
• Performance audit report “Exploitation of river material as a segment of integral arrangement and protection of the watercourse of the Drina River” (published in 2021).
These follow-up reviews covered 31 public sector institutions and checked the status of 26 given recommendations. It was determined that no recommendations have been fully implemented, while 15% have been partially implemented, 35% of recommendations are being implemented, and 50% of recommendations have not been implemented.