Government Audit Office

About the Office

The Government Audit Office with the sphere of authority for the whole territory of the Slovak Republic, based in Zvolen, was established by Act No.357/2015 Coll. on financial control and audit and on the amendment to certain acts with effect from 1 January 2016. The Government Audit Office has established its offices in Bratislava, Košice and Zvolen with the written consent of the Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic.

The Government Audit Office is a state-budget funded organisation with its revenues and expenditures connected to the budget of the Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic (hereinafter referred to as the “MF SR”).

The Government Audit Office is managed by the Director responsible for the Office’s activities, who is appointed and dismissed by the Minister of Finance of the Slovak Republic (hereinafter referred to as the “Minister of Finance”).

Sphere of authority, competences and powers in the field of government audit

• it carries out government audits pursuant to Act No. 357/2015 Coll. on financial control and audit and on the amendment to certain acts, and pursuant to special regulations (e.g. Act of the National Council of the Slovak Republic No. 278/1993 Coll. on state property management, as amended, Act No. 358/2015 Coll. on the regulation of certain relations in the field of State aid and minimum aid and on the amendment to certain acts (State Aid Act), Act No. 595/2003 Coll. on income tax, as amended, Act No. 374/2014 Coll. on the State’s claims and on the amendment to certain acts, as amended),
• it adjudicates in proceedings concerning breaches of financial discipline in the handling of funds from abroad provided on the basis of international treaties binding on the Slovak Republic and funds from the state budget, if their provision is a condition for the provision of these funds,
• it imposes and enforces sanctions for breaches of financial discipline in the handling of funds from abroad provided on the basis of international treaties binding on the Slovak Republic and funds from the state budget, if their provision is a condition for the provision of these funds,
• it adjudicates in proceedings concerning breaches of financial discipline in the handling of funds provided as a share of the tax paid to the extent pursuant to a special regulation (Article 50 of Act No. 595/2003 Coll., as amended),
• it imposes and enforces sanctions for breaches of financial discipline in the handling of funds provided as a share of the tax paid, which are a revenue of the state budget,
• it provides assistance to the Ministry of Finance within its sphere of authority pursuant to Article 3 of Act No. 357/2015 Coll. on financial control and audit and on the amendment to certain acts,
• it assesses the quality of financial control and internal audit,
• it performs other tasks not listed in Article 4 (4) as referred to in the previous bullets of Act No.357/2015 Coll. on financial control and audit and on the amendment to certain acts if so provided by special regulations (e.g. Act of the Slovak National Council No. 71/1992 Coll. on court fees and the fee for an extract from the criminal record, as amended, Act of the National Council of the Slovak Republic No. 145/1995 Coll. on administrative fees as amended, Act of the National Council of the Slovak Republic No. 202/1995 Coll., the Foreign Exchange Act and act amending Act of the Slovak National Council No. 372/1990 Coll. on offences as amended, as amended, Act of the National Council of the Slovak Republic No. 18/1996 Coll. on prices as amended, Act No. 523/2004 Coll. on budgetary rules of general government and on the amendment to certain acts, as amended, Act No. 583/2004 Coll. on budgetary rules of local government and on the amendment to certain acts, as amended, Act No. 747/2004 Coll. on financial market supervision and on the amendment to certain acts, as amended).

The Government Audit Office is authorised to carry out government audits in:

• a general government body,
• a municipality, a higher territorial unit, legal entities established or founded by them, namely government audit of public finances, which constitute the revenues of the municipality’s budget and the revenues of the budget of the higher territorial unit according to a special regulation, and their use,
• a legal entity to which a general government body performs the function of a founder, settlor or in which a general government body exercises shareholder rights or rights arising from the ownership of property shares; in a legal entity to which the Slovak Information Service performs the function of a founder or settlor, in which government audit is carried out by the Ministry of Finance under the conditions laid down in special regulations or international treaties binding on the Slovak Republic and on the basis of which the Slovak Republic receives financial resources from abroad,
• a person to which or through which public finances are provided, to which public finances have been provided for which a general government body is responsible, or to which public finances have been provided in accordance with a special regulation in a person to which or through which the Slovak Information Service provides public finances, a government audit is carried out by the Ministry of Finance under the conditions laid down in special regulations or international treaties binding on the Slovak Republic and on the basis of which the Slovak Republic receives financial resources from abroad,
• a person other than those referred to in the preceding bullets, where a special regulation so provides (e.g. Act of the National Council of the Slovak Republic No. 278/1993 Coll. on state property management, as amended, Act No. 358/2015 Coll. on the regulation of certain relations in the field of State aid and minimum aid and on the amendment to certain acts, Act No. 595/2003 Coll. on income tax, as amended, Act No. 374/2014 Coll. on the State’s claims and on the amendment to certain acts, as amended).

The Government Audit Office carries out government audit in accordance with the Procedures for Government Audit issued by the Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic.