Chairman of Romania’s Court of Auditors (CCR) Mihai Busuioc on Thursday discussed with Chairman of the International Board of Auditors for NATO (IBAN) Radek Visinger strengthening cooperation between the two bodies under a memorandum of understanding signed on March 26, 2024, at NATO headquarters.

Busuioc on Thursday, March 20, 2025, welcomed Visinger on an official visit at the CCR headquarters.

The memorandum strengthens bilateral relations and supports the exchange of good practices in the field of external public audit.

„The Romanian Court of Auditors aims to provide objective and accurate information in real time, supported by solid audit evidence. The current geopolitical context has redefined the challenges we face and it is essential to focus particularly on the aspects of major importance, with a direct impact on the lives of citizens, offering through our expertise added value in the activity of the audited entities,” said Busuioc.

During the meeting, he also addressed the main conclusions of the audit missions carried out at the Ministry of National Defence, underlining the positive aspects resulting from the audit missions, respectively the quality of the internal managerial control system, both from a normative perspective (the degree of procedure of the activity being very high) and of the activity of the specific departments and the very high degree of compliance (over 90%) in the implementation of the measures/recommendations of the Court of Auditors.

He also spoke about the significant challenges resulting from the audit missions, such as the lack of key positions and staff turnover, caused largely by multiple retirements from the defence system, but also by the insufficiency of promotions of graduates from military education, which cannot compensate for the shortage of qualified human resources.

At the same time, the CCR official mentioned a decrease in young people’s interest in a military career, worsened by the context of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which is reflected in a trend of reducing the number of candidates for military schools and universities.

Busuioc also discussed the information systems that are not adapted to the complexity and volume of the activities of the Ministry of National Defence, endangering the efficiency and transparency of internal processes.

A key point of the visit was to strengthen cooperation in the field of external public audit, given the crucial role of the IBAN in monitoring NATO spending. The IBAN’s work, which includes financial and performance audits of NATO expenditures and programmes, is essential to ensure the transparency and efficiency of the use of funds intended for collective defence and global security.

„Today’s meeting shows the close relationship between the International Board of Auditors for NATO and the Romanian Court of Auditors. We mark one year since the signing of the memorandum of understanding between the two institutions and I can say that we have a true partner in Romania’s Court of Auditors. The support of the IBAN by the supreme audit institutions of NATO member states is crucial and I wish that in the future we will strengthen cooperation between our institutions in terms of audit staff training,” Visinger is quoted as saying.

Visinger’s visit to CCR is said to be an important step in strengthening the body’s international relations and in promoting the standards of good practices in the field of external public audit at NATO level.

Collaboration between CCR and IBAN underlines the commitment of both bodies to support transparency and promote good practices in the management of public funds, both nationally and internationally.

AGERPRES