Auditing Office
An auditing office is a special office that is not subject to instructions and controls the budgetary and economic management of a corporation under public law . There are auditing offices in Germany at two different administrative levels:
- State audit offices ( assigned to the 16 state audit offices)
- Local audit offices (are included in the administrative districts or municipalities )
- Church audit offices (at the level of the regional churches )
The auditing offices are supposed to ascertain the correctness and correctness of the budget execution of the audited bodies . In addition, uneconomical administrative activities, corruption or financial practices that do not comply with the budget are to be uncovered. The mandatory tasks are regulated by law (e.g. in the municipal regulations of the federal states). Further tasks can be part of the local audit regulations of the municipalities and districts.
The reports and findings of the auditing offices are the basis for the councils' decision on the discharge of the main administrative officials (cf. § 129 NKomVG ) and can be viewed by the interested public - while maintaining data protection. They also serve as a source of information for local authorities .
Since this is a purely sovereign activity , this mandatory task is usually carried out with suitable officials . With the exception of management, employees with special qualifications (e.g. business economists and engineers) are increasingly being employed. An auditing office (in each of the above-mentioned administrative levels) is always detached from the rest of the administrative structure and therefore enjoys a special independence. The auditing offices are never subordinate to the prime minister or a (lord) mayor , but to the state parliament or the municipal council . These decide on the appointment and dismissal of the management and auditor. However, this independence only relates to auditing matters; in other areas (e.g. personnel matters) an audit office is subordinate to the respective employer.
Audit offices can also be set up for non-governmental corporations under public law, e.g. B. in the regional churches of the Evangelical Church; Church officials do the auditing there.