Within the scope of the project "Good financial governance at the local level in Georgia" of the German Development Agency (GIZ), Giorgi Mamrikishvili, Head of the Audit Department of Self-Government Entities of the State Audit Office, visited the Audit Office of the Hessian region of Germany (Hessian Court of Audit) and learned about their experience.
The Hessian Court of Audit is considered one of the best-practicing audit offices in Europe. Due to the scale of the region, the organization prefers systematic audits, within which it covers up to 100 municipalities every year.
The practice of the Hessian Court of Audit in conducting systematic audits is important for the State Audit Office, because next year the Department of Self-Government Entities of the SAO is planning a compliance systematic audit of the budget process management in municipalities in order to improve the control of local self-governments. At the central level, the State Audit Office has been conducting systematic, thematic audits since 2018.
The Head of the Audit Department of Self-Government Entities visited the Federal Republic of Germany together with the representatives of the central and local governments. Within the framework of the visit, the managers of various German regions and cities introduced the Georgian delegation to the best practices, experiences, and challenges of oversight. Meetings were hosted in the cities of Frankfurt, Wiesbaden, Darmstadt, Mainz, Nieder Olm, Alzey-Worms region (Rhineland-Palatinate).
The topics of the meetings were the governance system of the Federal Republic of Germany, with emphasis on local self-government; Municipal budget management and financial oversight; Municipal finance and budget system and others.
