Only 19 of Portugal’s 308 municipalities, and none in the Algarve, have a working internal audit function, according to a study released today at the first Internal Audit Forum for Local Authorities which took place in Loures near Lisbon.
According to António Ferrador, head of Audit and Management Control at Loures council, just 74 of Portugal’s councils have an internal audit function, but of these only 19 take the trouble to use them.
In the racy study "A brief portrait of Internal Audit in Portugal" the expert concluded that of the 18 municipalities in greater Lisbon, five have an internal audit system in place; in greater Oporto the paper concluded that there are seven councils that have such structures in place.
The research revealed that six of the country's 18 district capitals do not have an internal audit structures in operation, namely Beja, Braga, Castelo Branco, Faro, Guarda and Viana do Castelo.
The district which has the least number of internal audits in place is the Algarve, with zero.
António Ferrador said the internal audit "is a system of safeguard and assurance, reliability and rigour" and should be a contribution to the "rationalisation and optimisation of municipal management which, in budgetary and financial terms, should provide quality public services."
