The Supreme Audit Institution of Italy is one of the largest SAIs in Europe – it hires about 3 thousand employees in the headquarters and in 20 regional branches. The Italian SAI employees have the status of independent judges and prosecutors/ accusers. They are appointed for life and are independent from the executive and legislative powers. In Italy individuals responsible for proven offences or actions against the state carry personal consequences, after a valid sentence is passed by the Italian SAI. In case of proven, deliberate criminal actions public officers may lose their private property and face the ban on holding public positions in future. The President of the Italian Corte dei conti has full financial and organisational autonomy to manage the Supreme Audit Institution. Also, the President defines the way of remunerating employees, specifies the institution status and autonomously approves the annual work plan of the Italian SAI.
The SAI of Italy has many unique solutions on a European scale. For instance, before a decision or a policy of the Italian government comes into force, the Italian SAI provides its opinion, ex ante, on the operation, potential effects, constitutionality and undesired impact of regulations. Moreover, without the approval of the Italian Corte dei conti, the Italian Parliament will not pass any resolutions, unless with a remark that a given resolution was not given a positive opinion of the Italian SAI, thus assuming full political responsibility for potential undesired effects of the laws implemented.
The President of the Italian Corte dei conti Mr. Guido Carlino appointed a special council to audit preparations (in real time) to implement the National Recovery Plan (NRP). A representative of NIK will take part in the seminar organised by the Italian SAI for European SAIs in this area. Independent audits carried out by Supreme Audit Institutions are a guarantee of reliable, effective and independent audit of funds earmarked for the EU citizens as part of the NRP.
The Italian Corte dei conti was established in 1862 and in 1948 provisions on audit, prosecutorial and judicial powers were added to the basic law of Italy. The key audit conducted by the SAI of Italy is, as in the case of NIK, the state budget execution audit. However, it does not end in the validation of the audit process, as in the case of NIK, but – if an offence is detected – prosecutorial and judicial measures are taken.
