Lithuanian SAI (State Control) is established under the Constitution (Articles 133 and 134) and Law on State Control of 30 May 1995, as amended. The State Control is a supreme government audit institution, accountable to the Seimas. The State Control is a legal entity having its current account with the Bank of Lithuania, a seal with the national emblem and an inscription “Republic of Lithuania. State Control", its symbols and insignia.
Auditor General shall be appointed for a five-year term of office by the Seimas on the recommendation of the President of the Republic. Auditor General may be appointed for no more than two successive terms of office. Any citizen of the Republic of Lithuania who has an impeccable reputation, is not older than 65 years of age, has a higher university education may be appointed as Auditor General. Auditor General shall commence performing his duties only after he takes an oath of allegiance to the Republic of Lithuania at a sitting of the Seimas.
The Auditor General may be dismissed from office in the following cases:
Various conditions of service of the Auditor General that secure the independence of the SAI are:
The State Control shall, while supervising the lawfulness and effectiveness of the management and use of the State property and the implementation of the State budget, shall carry out audit of:
1) State budget implementation;
2) use of State funds;
3) management, use and disposal of the State property;
4) implementation of the budget of the State Social Insurance Fund;
5) implementation of the budget of the Compulsory Health Insurance Fund;
6) use by respective fund management institutions and beneficiaries of
funds of the European Union allocated to the Republic of Lithuania and
implementation of programmes in which Lithuania participates.
The SAI's jurisdiction extends to following:
Officers of the State Control performing the government auditing shall be entitled: to independently choose the audit procedures; to acquire from the auditee documents and information that are necessary to perform the audit; to carry out control measurements, inventory of material valuables or to examine property of the auditee in other ways, as well as to perform other necessary actions; to get from the auditee’s employees necessary explanations in writing; to draw up statements on the administrative violation of law; to get, for free via electronic communications, state cadastres, classificators and registries data and information, necessary for government auditing, from institutions of public administration and local government; to receive conclusions from agencies of expert examination on the submitted audit documents; to use experts of appropriate fields and audit companies when carrying out specific audits.
When performing the government auditing, officers of the State Control shall be responsible for the fulfilment of requirements of government auditing, conformity with the Institutional Ethics Code of State Control Officers, and validity of audit conclusions.
When drawing up statements on government auditing reports, Auditor General and his deputies shall be entitled to:
1) indicate to auditees shortcomings in their activities, and to set the time limits for elimination of the violations of legal acts;
2) recommend to the management of the auditees or the superior institutions that the persons who have caused damage to the State or the local authority, institution, agency, undertaking, organisation or other legal entity, should be held liable (under personal/civil liability) in a manner prescribed by law;
3) recommend to the management of the auditees or the superior institutions to impose a disciplinary penalty on the persons who have committed violations;
4) recommend to the auditees to return to the State and municipal budgets, relevant State funds, the National Fund for implementation of aid programmes of the European Communities in the Republic of Lithuania the funds that have been allotted or used in violation of laws or other legal acts;
5) upon the establishment of violations, refer, according to the competence, government auditing documents subject to consideration by public administration entities or law enforcement bodies to concern within their competence;
6) propose to State and municipal control institutions and internal audit services of public administration entities to carry out examinations within their competence.
Documents of the government auditing shall be working papers, government auditing report, and government auditing opinion and statement. Working papers shall be ownership of the State Control and may not be submitted to the third persons without the consent of the State Control, except for the cases when, in a manner prescribed by law, the court requests to submit written evidences; law enforcement bodies take away documents of the government auditing in a manner prescribed by law. Documents of the government auditing shall be preserved according to the procedure established by the Law on Archives.
Financial audit shall be concluded by drawing up the audit report and audit opinion, and performance audit by drawing up the audit report. If violations of legal acts at the auditee have been revealed during the audit and have not been eliminated, the statement shall be drawn. The statements shall be drawn by the Auditor General and his deputies on the basis of audit reports.
When drawing up statements on government auditing reports, Auditor General and his deputies shall be entitled to:
The State Control shall be a supreme government audit institution, accountable to the Seimas. The State Control shall be a legal entity having its current account with the Bank of Lithuania, a seal with the national emblem and an inscription “Republic of Lithuania. State Control", its symbols and insignia.
Auditor General shall be the head of the State Control. The structure of the State Control shall comprise departments, divisions, and other services necessary for performing of the government auditing. Auditor general shall establish and approve the names of the structural units and regulations of their activities.
The Board of the State Control shall be an advisory body to the Auditor General that considers the main issues of the State Control activities and service with the State Control. Auditor General shall define the number of members of the Board, its composition, as well as the competence and work procedure of the Board.
The State Control shall be financed from the State budget. The Seimas shall fix the amount of the appropriations for the State Control budget. The financial audit of the State Control shall be carried out by the audit institution appointed by a resolution of the Seimas.