The SOLIDUS Award established this year was handed over at a ceremony by László Domokos, President of the SAO to Dr. Josef Moser, President of the Austrian Court of Audit and Secretary General of INTOSAI, and to Dr. Gyula Pulay, Director of the State Audit Office of Hungary, in Budapest on the 27th of May 2016. SOLIDUS award may be awarded to those natural persons who have contributed through outstanding activities to the achievement of the objectives of the State Audit Office of Hungary, and to the fulfilment of its activities, to the fulfilment of its constitutional role and enhancement of its social prestige.
"Order, value, clarity, truth, solidity and transparency" - the SOLIDUS award reached its existing form along these ideas - stressed László Domokos in his welcoming address. President of the State Audit Office of Hungary said: As a recognition, the SOLIDUS award can be awarded to persons who have contributed to the constitutional and social weight, as well as to the professional prestige of the State Audit Office of Hungary through outstanding, exemplary performance, or took part in the renewing of the institutional organization, in developing international relations and through outstanding audit activities contributed to the efficient utilization of public funds.
In his speech, the President of the SAO presented the relationship of INTOSAI and the SAO that was put on a new basis by the new Act on the SAO in 2011 and called the attention to the possibly not that well-known connection that the consolidation of the Hungarian legal framework was made possible by the renewal of international frameworks defining the SAIs’ activities. In 2010, at the 20th INCOSAI held in Johannesburg, the new INTOSAI Strategy for 2011-2016 was adopted, while in 2010, the INTOSAI made significant progress from a methodological point of view, as well. So the international methodological renewal acted as a catalyst to the professional renewal of the State Audit Office of Hungary, as the SAO considers the international methodological principles as a guidance - said László Domokos.
The new Act on the SAO of 2011 established and facilitated the practical implementation of the SAO’s independence also - continued the President, and added that this has also an important international dimension, since the Hungarian act is in line with the UN resolution adopted on 22 December 2011, according to which "supreme audit institutions can accomplish their tasks objectively and effectively only if they are independent of the audited entity and are protected against outside influence."
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Hungary with this new act is among the first countries in the world that fully complied with the requirements aiming at that. This all was enabled by the active development processes within the INTOSAI - emphasized the President of the State Audit Office of Hungary. "The renewal therefore could not have been possible without the international guidelines of the INTOSAI. So we were able to transform and stabilize as well as consolidate the role of the State Audit Office of Hungary, both from legal and technical point of view "- summed up László Domokos.
In his speech, the President mentioned the special and most important knowledge product of the SAO’s renewal raising keen international interest, the ‘Integrity-project’, which has now also become a real trademark worldwide. The Integrity-project, serving for the prevention of corruption, allows Hungary to be now one of the major donor organizations of the INTOSAI Development Initiative’s (IDI), anti-corruption programs, both from professional and financial point of view - stressed the President.
The first-time nominees of the SOLIDUS Award have outstanding career paths both on international and national level, and through their determining actions they both contributed greatly to the achievement of the goals of the State Audit Office of Hungary. The significant activities and support of Dr. Josef Moser and the professional-scientific activities of Dr. Gyula Pulay, Director of the SAO, contributed to the results of the SAO listed above – highlighted the President of the State Audit Office of Hungary.
Dr. Josef Moser, President of the Austrian Court of Audit and the INTOSAI Secretary General, is an old ally and strategic partner of the SAO. Being the INTOSAI Secretary General, Dr. Josef Moser had taken significant steps to ensure that the UN recognizes SAIs’ independence and the importance of their activity. In December 2011, as a result of these efforts the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution at its 66th Session acknowledging the independence of SAIs and the importance of external interference-free operation for the first time, which is essential for the objective and effective fulfilment of their tasks. The INTOSAI accepted its first Strategic Plan while Dr. Josef Moser was holding the position as Secretary General of the INTOSAI, which sets out the organizational structure of the international organization of SAIs all around the world.
The President of the Austrian Court of Audit, Dr. Josef Moser plays an important role in strengthening bilateral relations between the SAIs of Austria and Hungary. Being the President of the Austrian Court of Audit, Dr. Josef Moser plays a prominent role in facilitating that the SAIs participating in the cooperation of the Visegrád Group (V 4+3) are represented with a common position at the meetings of the EU Contact Committee and thereby greatly contributed to a more effective cooperation while filling it with professional content, as well.
Dr. Gyula Pulay, Director of the SAO, is a key leader, who has an impact on the results of the SAO not only via his professional-scientific results and innovative analysing activities, but also via his academic skills and mentoring activities. After the years spent at the SAO Research Institute he has been performing his duties of strategic importance from 2011 as a supervisory manager, in parallel to that as a budget expert, member of the Editorial Board of the Public Finance Quarterly, as well as the leader of the Integrity Project. Dr. Gyula Pulay has greatly contributed to the fact that the State Audit Office of Hungary has become a flagship in Hungary in combating corruption and the Integrity Project now receives a priority attention even at international level.
Upon being awarded, Dr. Josef Moser and Dr. Pulay Gyula both expressed their gratitude in a short speech. The President of the SAO highlighted the cooperative professional relationship between the Austrian Court of Audit and the State Audit Office of Hungary dating back many years, which bears its fruits at international level. In his short speech, Dr. Gyula Pulay highlighted the importance of enforcing the integrity culture.
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