NIK President Marian Banaś took part in a TV debate on the current situation of the SAI of Montenegro. In the discussion he strongly emphasised the importance of having a supreme audit institution, free from political pressure. “A supreme audit institution must have full freedom in exercising its mandate in any democratic state” – said Marian Banaś. “To pursue its mission, independence is the attribute of a SAI which – along with the professionalism of auditors and the attitude of its management – is the fundament of citizens’ trust in reliable and objective audits.”
NIK President also took part in a meeting with Vice-President of the Parliament of Montenegro Zdenka Popović. The Head of the Polish SAI referred to an example of NIK’s independence violations identified by SIRAM and presented measures taken by NIK to protect its autonomy. The President also indicated which elements of political pressure really seek to reduce NIK’s operational capacity and harm its reputation.
Marian Banaś warned the SAI of Montenegro against the temptation to ignore first symptoms of attempts to illegally impact the SAI from the outside. He underlined that in that situation the SAI management is particularly responsible for the fight to maintain SAI independence.
The meetings in Podgorica was also attended by the President of the Federal Court of Accounts of Brazil Bruno Dantas, the present Chair of the Governing Board of INTOSAI. He underscored that just like in case of Poland, the SAI of Montenegro can also expect full support of INTOSAI, and the use of all available means at its disposal to defend the independence of the Audit Authority of Montenegro.
Representatives of the SAI Senate and the Presidium of the Parliament of Montenegro thanked the Presidents of the SAIs of Poland and Brazil for their support and expressed a belief that the international pressure is now a tool which may help defend independence of the SAI of Montenegro.
