“The computer systems of entities within the budgetary perimeter of the Regional Public Administration are based on different IT solutions that support management: six computer systems have been identified,” the Court of Auditors (TdC) warns in an audit of the “information and budget execution control systems” in the Azores.
The audit recommends that the Regional Directorate of Budget and Treasury (DROT) of the Azorean Government implement a central computer system that interacts with the systems of various services and entities of the public administration.
The TdC believes that the creation of such a central system would allow the “automatic preparation of the Region’s accounts, covering all entities within the budgetary perimeter and a proposal for a consolidated budget.”
“It is urgent to promote the automation of systems implemented at the central level to ensure greater security, integrity, and reliability of information,” it warns.
According to the audit, the entities and services of the Azorean public administration use five different computer systems, while at the central level, the Regional Directorate of Budget and Treasury information is scattered across six programs, in addition to “manual systems.”
“There are no central computer systems that aggregate and display, in real-time, the budget execution of the regional public administrative sector,” it emphasizes.
The TdC identifies “redundant processes, both in information and operations, rudimentary and vulnerable,” warning that the use of manual processes or “different methods of communication and security” makes the system “susceptible to failures.”
“The information regarding the budget execution of autonomous services and funds and reclassified public entities is only known ‘after the fact,’ through the aggregation/consolidation of information carried out by manual processes,” it notes.
The audit also stresses the recommendation to create a “mechanism” that allows “the calculation of available funds to be associated with the effective budget execution of revenue” to ensure that expenses are covered by cash availability.
