site.btaBulgaria Hosts NATO International Internal Auditors Conference

Bulgarian Defence Minister Todor Tagarev opened the 4th NATO International Internal Auditors Conference here on Thursday. The prestigious two-day forum is organized by the Ministry's Internal Audit Directorate with the assistance of the Sofia-based Crisis Management and Disaster Response Centre of Excellence (CMDR COE), Tagarev's Ministry said in a press release. The conference is mottoed "Defence Audit at Times of New Risks". 

"Such forums are exceedingly important for sharing good practices and improving coordinating among internal auditors of the NATO member countries," Tagarev pointed out.

He noted the critical significance of defining the new risks and sharing experience in countercorruption, especially in the changed political and public environment after the start of Russia's war in Ukraine. The Defence Minister hopes that the discussion and sharing of good practices will help enhance the effectiveness of financial management and control systems in the field of defence.

Attending the opening of the event were Bulgaria's Deputy Chief of Defence, Lieutenant General Tsanko Stoykov, and the Director of the Defence Ministry's Internal Audit Directorate Slavcho Zlatkov.

Among other topics, the participants discuss fraud prevention and detection and counter-corruption, defining fraud risks in defence-related public procurement, and challenges and problems facing strategic risk management.

New global standards for internal audit in defence in the NATO member countries will be presented as well, along with sharing practical experience in addressing challenges in the public procurement field.

The lecturers at the conference include heads of NATO internal audit entities, heads of internal audit at the defence ministries of various countries, and representatives of the non-governmental sector.