Magazine No. 26 - 2021 57 EUROSAI Working Groups and Task Forces the use of real-estate along with new ways to deliver public services”, – the new TFMA-touched topic was presented at the welcome speech of the Auditor General of the Republic of Lithuania, Chair of the EUROSAI TFMA Mindaugas Macijauskas. “The asset is a basis for determining the real cost concept, which is the starting point for program budgeting both at the central and local level. Good management of real estate is an imperative of the time we live”, – speaking on the same subject stressed Dr Milan Dabović, President of the Senate of the SAI of Montenegro. All this was perfectly reflected in the presentations made during the seminar and discussions that identified significant risks for the management of real-estate in municipalities during the pandemic. Keynote speakers – Augustė Purlienė, Principal Public Auditor - Audit Team Leader of SAI of Lithuania, Miloš Vuković, Chief Executive Officer of Fidelity Consulting Montenegro, Prof Dr Milan Lakićević, scientist of the Faculty of Economics at the University of Montenegro, emphasized the role of SAIs and the importance of audits in municipal real-estate management. World Bank consultant Dr Olga Kaganova questioned – are auditors champions of progress in government asset management and if they should be? The Audit Compendiums expanded the thematic field Noteworthy that in recent years the launch of Audit Compendiums plays a vital role in TFMA activities. Initiated by EUROSAI TFMA Secretariat as an alternative to cooperative audits, these publications achieved success. The topic of the first Audit Compendium “Municipalityowned companies” was selected by all members and coordinated by the Coordination Group It was based on audit reports in the field of municipality-owned companies produced by 14 TFMA members between 2016 and 2019 and published in May 2020. In view of the success of the first product, the activity addressing additional topics of general interest has been pursued. Considering the relevance of the issue and the systematicity of audits carried out by TFMA members, the subject of real estate was chosen for the second Audit Compendium. The Audit Compendium “Municipal real-estate management” presented the results of financial, compliance, performance audits and overviews, published in the audit reports in the period 20162021 and was launched in October 2021. The topic of this compendium was perfectly fitted into the 4th Seminar of EUROSAI TFMA “Municipal Real-Estate Management” as well: the participants held group discussions, shared their insights and success stories. Ensured connection and communication The field of communication is important for the sharing of information, knowledge and experience between the members of EUROSAI TFMA. For this reason, information about the activities is constantly updated on the website, as well as in new communication tools launched a few years ago - platforms on the social networks “LinkedIn” and “Facebook”. In these networks, the information is updated by 1-2 posts per month. TFMA page on “LinkedIn” has about 170 followers, while the same named page on “Facebook” has 130 members. Four Annual Newsletters were launched in the period of 2017-2021 as a result of active contribution from the TFMA members and partners, reports on its recent activities and events. The last, fourth, issue of the newsletter covering the period July 2020 - August 2021 was dedicated to the COVID-19 audit response. The members shared the results of audits of this topic in the municipal area, their experiences on adapting to the new environment caused by the pandemic, changes in audit practices and approaches.
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