New head promises changes to Audit Chamber

(Interfax – MOSCOW, October 17, 2013) New Audit Chamber Chairman Tatiana Golikova says she plans to use her experience as a financier when planning changes to the work of the chamber.

“I think there will be changes. If only because I have been professionally engaged in finance all my life and I have my own opinion on what to look for when conducting audits. Perhaps, in the Audit Chamber construction that existed before me, such requirements did not arise,” Golikova said in an interview that Kommersant newspaper published Thursday.

She also plans to make the work of the chamber more open.

“I am trying to see what makes the information closed apart from the law. We need to understand on what basis documents are assigned as “for official use only,” and was there an internal document in the Audit Chamber about this,” she said.

Documents that come to the chamber marked as secret or top secret also leave there closed.

“We need to inform the public, without discussing what is closed by law,” Golikova said.

Auditors should provide explanations to the press on violations discovered.

“And our decisions deciphered – that this was: misuse of funds or ineffective, where legislation was violated and so on. This awareness work is important in my view,” she said.

Even more important is subsequent monitoring of actions adopted by ministries or other structures after the audit, she said.

“This has not yet received enough public or enough internal discussion. I know that recently Sergei Vadimovich (Stepashin) adopted such a policy, but it was not brought to a logical end,” she said.

There have already been some changes at the Audit Chamber, Golikova said.

There are more departments, while the central office is smaller. Also, the legal division was boosted, she added.

“In addition, as of October 1 we received a range of additional functions, which we plan to carry out with the same number of staff,” she said.

[featured image is file photo]