In contravention of the Local Government Act, 196 municipalities, 7 %, have no chief auditor at all. This results from an electronic survey of the Supreme Audit Office (SAO) of the Slovak Republic and an expert analysis. All local governments, including the municipal districts of Bratislava and Košice, sent responses to the Audit Office. The number of chief auditors within the local government is 1 410. Compared to the same survey in 2020, this is 124 fewer, with almost two municipalities per controller.

"Our research has confirmed the risks we anticipated. Small municipalities have a problem paying inspectors, and the number of inspectors is insufficient, which is why there are super-auditors who spend over 200 percent of their working time. There are still low requirements for the expertise of local auditors in the legislation. It does not even address, for example, how to deal with long-term sick leave, maternity leave, or what the minimum or maximum working hours can be in relation to the size of the municipality," points out Ľubomír Andrassy, the chairman of the national auditors. At the same time, he stresses that "it is not the fault of municipalities for the poor set-up of the system. Insufficient legislation does not create conditions for quality audits, which can sometimes be formal, which plays into the hands of speculators. Municipalities may not even be aware of the super inspectors' full-time jobs," added the head of the national authority for external control. The SAO has already held talks with representatives of the Labour Inspectorate, which will use the inspectors' findings in its work.

Read the full text of the press release about this issue in Slovak language.