The first President of the newly founded Supreme Chamber of Control of the Republic of Poland was an outstanding lawyer and former minister in the government of the Kingdom of Poland, Józef Higersberger. One and a half years later, along with the enactment of the Polish Constitution on 17 March 1921, the Supreme Chamber of Control was renamed to the Supreme Audit Office.
Ever since, regardless of the whirlwind of history, NIK has continuously safeguarded public finance. It has ceaselessly served the society in the difficult years of Interwar Poland, in the nightmares of the Second World War, in exile and in the occupied Poland. NIK has also served the Polish state and its citizens in Poland occupied by the Soviets, in the People’s Republic of Poland, in the renewed Republic of Poland after 1989 and in modern Poland facing new global and technological challenges, in the third millennium.
But NIK is not only about history. Above all, it is about diligent and strenuous everyday service. NIK auditors pledge to perform their work on the foundation of diligence, insight, objectivity and patriotism. It is about independent care about economic, transparent and legal spending of public funds. NIK takes efforts to make sure that the law is transparent and effective and that Polish citizens can rest assured that their common good is managed properly.
According to NIK’s tradition, NIK President Marian Banaś and representatives of NIK management and trade unions laid wreaths at the monument of Marshall Józef Piłsudski, at the monument of Prime Minister Ignacy Jan Paderewski and on the graves of NIK employees and President Józef Higersberger at Powązki Cemetery.
NIK representatives with President Marian Banaś also laid wreaths at the Memorial Wall 1939-1945 and memorials dedicated to Marshall Józef Piłsudski and former NIK Presidents: prof. Walerian Pańko and prof. Lech Kaczyński.
This year’s celebration of NIK’s anniversary is not only a reminder of the role our institution has played in the past century of the Republic of Poland. It also confirms that NIK’s mission is still going on. This year, in line with the work plan passed by the NIK Council, audits conducted by the Supreme Audit Office will focus on the way public institutions, such as hospitals, schools and public administration bodies operate in the pandemic as well as on the effectiveness of the anti-crisis shields. NIK will also verify readiness of the Polish Armed Forces and the Police. A separate issue is the system of subsidies while exiting the coal-based economy. This subject is very up-to-date due to the draft Energy Policy of Poland until 2040 which is under development now. One of the areas to be covered by NIK in 2021 will be the financing of Poland’s promotion in 2021. Obviously, the biggest undertaking is - as every year - the audit of state budget execution. These are only some of 103 audits included in NIK’s work plan for 2021. Apart from that ad hoc audits will also be carried out.
