Press Releases

23.4.2026

SAO President at a meeting with Ambassadors: The EU’s concept of sustainability is at odds with rising debt

“In the European Union’s economy, we have ceased to respect economic principles. Sustainability, as the EU conceives it, is at odds with rising debt. We are taking on more and more debt, thereby depleting the resources of future generations.” This was stated by Miloslav Kala, President of the Supreme Audit Office (SAO), on Wednesday, 22 April 2026, at the now-traditional meeting with EU Ambassadors.

7.4.2026

Central government accounting is underutilised. The key lies in education and simplification

In practice, central government accounting is used only to a limited extent and financial reporting could be simplified. This was stated by the Supreme Audit Office and the Faculty of Finance and Accounting at the Prague University of Economics and Business, the authors of a joint report which was presented today at an expert conference on the use of central government accounting.

30.3.2026

SAO audits in 2025: results often do not justify the high investments

Despite high investments, the state has failed to modernise key areas of its operations. The digitalisation of public administration often merely transfers complex processes to an online environment without truly simplifying them. While the state is building new highways, it has not implemented effective tools to mitigate the damage caused primarily by overloaded freight traffic.

23.3.2026

According to the Ministry of Regional Development, the renovation of local roads is a local issue; yet, it has provided municipalities with nearly five billion in subsidies

According to its own statement, the Ministry of Regional Development considers the renovation of local roads to be a local issue. Nevertheless, from 2019 through February 2025, it provided municipalities with subsidies totalling CZK 4.7 billion from the state budget for this renovation, supporting a total of 2,150 projects

16.3.2026

Measures by the Ministry of Agriculture to address flood damage: insufficient water retention in the landscape

Over the past 27 years, floods have caused a total of 260 billion crowns in damage in the Czech Republic. Flood control measures are intended to prevent extensive damage. The Supreme Audit Office audited CZK 7.1 billion spent by the Ministry of Agriculture between the years 2020 and 2024 on flood protection and water retention in the landscape.

12.3.2026

Leaders of EUROSAI Supreme Audit Institutions met in Prague to discuss deepening of cooperation

Deepening cooperation and sharing experience among Supreme Audit Institutions affiliated with EUROSAI was the theme of a two-day conference held on Tuesday and Wednesday, 10 and 11 March 2026, at the SAO headquarters in Prague.

8.3.2026

The 7th edition of the Public Administration Hackathon was dominated by applications with help-oriented themes

Assisting with health problems, finding care for the infirm, helping in the event of imminent outdoor danger or creating a tool to help doctors in their work. These are the predominant themes of the winners of the seventh annual nationwide Public Administration Hackathon.

23.2.2026

The Ministry of the Interior has spent over CZK 870 million on professionalising and improving the quality of the civil service. However, it did not achieve the desired effect

Almost 61% of civil service authorities* failed to implement the required minimum standard for effective authority management within the set deadline. The desired digitalisation of civil servant training and of the civil service examinations has not been achieved.

Tereza Koucká Hőfferová (autor KPS / Lukáš Janičina)

17.2.2026

New Member of the SAO Board Tereza Koucká Hőfferová took her oath before the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic

On Monday, 16 February 2026, Tereza Koucká Hőfferová, a new Member of the Supreme Audit Office (SAO) Board, took her oath of office before Tomio Okamura, Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, and thus assumed her new position.

16.2.2026

The information from the National Sports Agency's accounts and budget for 2024 is reliable. The closing account did not contain some key information

The Supreme Audit Office reviewed the data in the closing account, accounting, and financial statements of the National Sports Agency for 2024.

9.2.2026

The Head of India's 42,000 state auditors met with the SAO President in Prague to discuss mutual cooperation in the INTOSAI Knowledge Sharing Committee

On Monday, 9 February 2026, two prominent representatives of the International Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) and members of the INTOSAI Governing Board met at the headquarters of the Supreme Audit Office in Prague.

9.2.2026

Even after eight years, the Ministry has failed to establish a functioning national system for the protection of soft targets. Activity only increased after the attack in 2023

Even after eight years, the Ministry of the Interior has failed to create a functioning national system for the protection of soft targets, as envisaged in the Concept for the Protection of Soft Targets for 2017-2020.

2.2.2026

Funds provided for expert consultations and advice helped Czech teams to participate more frequently in international research programmes

Funds provided for expert consultations and advice to applicants for grants from international research programmes contributed to an increase in the participation of Czech research teams in these programmes.

28.1.2026

Tereza Koucká Hőfferová was elected as a Member of the SAO Board

The new Member of the SAO Board will be the current Director of the Legal Department, Ms Tereza Koucká Hőfferová. Members of Parliament elected her in a secret ballot on Wednesday, 28 January 2026, with 144 of the 177 members present voting in favour of her election.

26.1.2026

Half a billion spent ineffectively: projects failed to improve the quality of education. However, the Ministry did a good job of integrating Ukrainian pupils into Czech schools

Between 2016 and 2023, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports spent more than half a billion Czech crowns from state and European Union funds on projects designed to improve the quality of education in regional schools and the results of primary and secondary school pupils.

19.1.2026

The Czech Customs Administration enforces judicial claims more effectively than the courts previously did. However, this has not led to an increase in the use of monetary penalties

The courts were unsuccessful in enforcing judicial claims, which include e.g. monetary penalties, court fees, and fines. Between 2021 and 2023, the courts enforced, on average, only eight per cent of the total volume of judicial claims.

15.1.2026

Fifty billion was not enough for digitalisation projects. The state promised fully digital services from 2025, but only 18% of them were successful

Although the Czech Republic invested more than CZK 50 billion in public administration digitalisation projects between 2020 and 2024, it failed to meet its original goal—that by February 2025, government services would be fully digitalised and citizens would have the right to communicate with the state digitally.

12.1.2026

The results of transport research, which cost almost two billion crowns from the state budget, are sometimes not reflected in practice

Almost CZK 2 billion was allocated in the state budget for the TRANSPORT 2020+ programme, which aims to support applied research, experimental development, and innovation in transport. The results are then to be put into practice, which should, among other things, increase the Czech Republic's competitiveness in this area.

5.1.2026

Digitalisation of visa and passport services: instead of interconnected systems, duplicate work and manual data transcription

Consular services, which include processing visa and travel document applications, have long failed to be converted into a functional and efficient digital form. The systems of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of the Interior are insufficiently interconnected, requiring manual data transcription and the use of couriers.

18.12.2025

President of the Supreme Audit Office recognises cartel detection, commitment to helping Ukrainians and top-level diplomacy

On Thursday, 18 December 2025, the President of the Supreme Audit Office (SAO) Miloslav Kala presented the SAO President’s Award to three awardees. He recognised the outstanding commitment of an SAO lawyer in assisting Ukrainian refugees fleeing Russian aggression, the meticulous audit work of an SAO auditor that led to the detection of a cartel in public procurement, and the top-level international diplomacy of the Secretary General of INTOSAI and…