site.btaUPDATED Experts Discuss Need of Better Coordination and Communication among Institutions Protecting Public Financial Interests

Experts Monday discussed at a roundtable ways to improve the coordination and communication among the institutions involved in the protection of public financial interests. Representatives of key state institutions, control bodies and NGOs attended the event organized by the Public Financial Inspection Agency (PFIA).

PFIA Director Stefan Belchev said there is no way the Agency can become the harbinger of good news. "They send us where there is a problem and we usually prove there is one," he said. Commenting on the findings of analysis done under a project for improving the Agency's inspection control, which was financed under Operational Programme Good Governance, Belchev said one of its main objectives was to train some 140 inspectors and legal advisers with an emphasis on digitization. There are no more than 120 inspectors working in the field compared to nearly 1,200 inspectors (financial auditors) 25 years ago, while the requirements and expectations remain unchanged.

Todor Yankulov, head of the expert team which worked on the EU-financed PFIA project, said that its essence is to support the process and operation of financial inspection and improve the coordination between different institutions. Financial violations and crimes vary in nature and complexity, which requires a high level of cooperation among control institutions. The project found that communication and coordination between the different institutions in the public financial inspection process scored well in terms of bilateral relations. It found, however, that the Advisory Board on Public Sector Audit and Control could meet more frequently, but also recognized that many issues raised for discussion there could be addressed through bilateral agreements. Also, a major problem for those inspected is the accumulation of several inspections by different bodies at the same time.

Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) Director General Kiril Valchev said that any legislative amendments should be tied up with publicity, which should "assure Bulgarians that there is control which ensures that normal things are by far more than abnormal things" and institutions like the PFIA should be obliged to provide information on their activity at certain intervals. BTA can be a good platform to improve communication with, and the training of, the media. In his words, training is needed in both directions: "you should be helped with public communication and the media need help with understanding the issues". In this sense, BTA could help at least with halls and media contacts. "We are a fine training platform for the media because everyone perceives BTA as being equidistant," Valchev said. "We all have a responsibility to protect the public interest: while PFIA protects the financial interests, the media do so in a broader sense," he added.

Assoc. Prof. Savina Mihaylova-Goleminova, lecturer at the St Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia, said there is room for improvement in the legal framework on public financial inspection. The expert said the effective Public Financial Inspection Act needed fine-tuning, adding that a new modern law should bring the PFIA into line with the new standards being set for administration, including the right to good administration, which is respected even now and is enshrined in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.

The EU-financed project identified, systematically described and analysed the weaknesses and threats in the manner and methodology of state financial inspection, which are conditioned by the legal framework on public financial inspection, PFIA's organizational structure and the tools and methodology used, the Agency said.

According to the PFIA, its control activity and the way it is perceived by outsiders are affected negatively by different or contradictory findings in the same entity, process or system. These discrepancies could also be due to the different assessment tools and methodologies used in the inspections.