Our activities

• Arm's length institutions
• Legal persons with statutory tasks spend tax money
• We audit accountability and supervision
• EU funds flows

Arm's length institutions

Many important statutory tasks are carried out by institutions that are at arm's length from the government. These institutions have a public task but are not part of central government. They are funded in whole or in part from the public purse. Such organisations and institutions are known as RWTs in the Netherlands and includes Statistics Netherlands (CBS), the Netherlands Broadcasting Foundation (NOS), universities and the Centre for Work and Income (CWI). These legal persons with statutory tasks spend about €110 billion every year on, for example:

• medical care
• education
• public transport
• social security
• public order

 

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Legal persons with statutory tasks spend tax money

RWTs have various sources of income. They receive money from social security and health insurance contributions, for example, but the charges levied for passports and driving exams are also a source of income. RWTs also receive funds from central government. It is therefore the Court of Audit's task to check the regularity, effectives and efficiency of their financial management. We have the power to audit only that part of the RWTs' budgets that is funded from taxation.

 

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We audit accountability and supervision

Our audits of legal persons with statutory tasks also consider the regulation of the ministers' responsibility for their policy fields. We also look at the ministers' supervision of institutions: can a minister fulfil his or her responsibilities? And how do the institution and the minister account for the implementation of policy? We share the lessons we learn from these audits in order to help improve public administration.

 

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EU funds flows

Each year the Court of Audit audits EU funds flows in the Netherlands. We also check the management of these funds, particularly agricultural subsidies and money that the EU spends on eliminating structural economic and social differences between and within the member states (the structural funds).

 

• EU Trend Report
  Each year we issue the EU Trend Report, an overview of the management and control of EU funds in the Netherlands. The report also considers developments in the EU and the situation in other member states. By means of the Trend Report, we wish to improve the financial management of EU funds in the Netherlands and in the European Union.

 

• EU member state declaration
  In 2006 the government decided to issue an annual national statement (the EU member state declaration) on the management and use of EU funds in the Netherlands. Its aim is to improve accountability and control of funds that the Netherlands contributes to and receives from the EU. The Court of Audit expresses an opinion on the EU member state declaration and reports on it to the House of Representatives each year.

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