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Kasper Junge Wester
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16 January 2023
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A Piranha V during Brave Lion 2022. Photo: Maria Sejr/Forsvarsgalleriet
"The state auditors find it critical that the Ministry of Defense has not organized financial management that enables the ministry to explain whether the settlement funds have been used to solve the tasks and achieve the goals and efficiencies that are foreseen in the defense settlement 2018-2023," appears from one of the two reports.
The state auditors further note that the Ministry of Defense is exempted from the state's general grant rules in several areas in order to ensure a flexible task solution, and that there are no legal or political requirements for the ministry to carry out a separate financial follow-up on the settlement initiatives. However, this does not exempt the ministry from keeping a close eye on how the money is used:
"It is the State Auditors' assessment that, even if these requirements have not been met, it must be expected that the ministry has an overview of whether the settlement funds are being used for the tasks and purposes stipulated in the defense settlement."
The many delays and outstanding materiel investments mean that, at the time of writing, Denmark is far from meeting both NATO's strength targets and the alliance's common target of spending two per cent. of bnp on the Armed Forces. Nato has on several occasions denounced this in particularly sharp terms in connection with the publication of the so-called Nato Defense Planning Capability Reviews . The latest edition was published in the autumn of 2022 and again invited criticism, but has not been put forward publicly by either the former S government or the current SVM government.
"The state auditors find it worrying that delays in materiel investments can have negative consequences for the Armed Forces' operational capacities and for Denmark's goal of increasing the share of defense expenditure to 2% of GDP in 2033."
The State Auditors' report further states that the Ministry of Defense "has not lived up to basic and generally widespread principles for good state financial management, which ensure transparency between grants, resource consumption and professional progress in the task solution. The consequence of the poor financial management is that the possibilities of the Folketing and the Ministry of Defense to assess the need for funding and prioritize on an informed basis are limited'.
"In this connection, it is an aggravating circumstance that the State Auditors and the National Audit Office have for a number of years raised criticism of financial management in the area of defence, just as the settlement circle has stated in several settlements that the ministry's financial management should be strengthened."
In the second of the two reports, the State Auditors take a closer look at the lack of progress in the work to make the aforementioned 1st Brigade ready for deployment. Here, too, the Ministry of Defense has not succeeded in impressing the state auditors, who note that the Ministry of Defense "has not organized effective management of the construction of the brigade and has only followed up on finances and progress to a limited extent. The ministry thus does not know how the approx. 4.4 billion DKK for the construction has been used, or whether the funds are sufficient for the entire project'.
The article continues below the picture...
The Ministry of Defense is further criticized for having been too optimistic in its briefings on the construction of the brigade and for not having informed the settlement circle about the consequences the delays have for the overall settlement implementation.
Defense Minister Jakob Ellemann-Jensen (V) now has two months to respond to the criticism in the two reports.
"The Ministry of Defense takes note of the National Audit Office's criticism and will follow up on it as part of the upcoming defense settlement. The Ministry of Defense is concerned with developing and strengthening the ministerial area's transversal management, planning and implementation of political objectives in future defense settlements,' writes the ministry.
"The Ministry of Defense acknowledges that the management and reporting of the Armed Forces' construction of the brigade can and must be strengthened, as the identified challenges in implementation could advantageously have been recognized earlier in the settlement period."
At the same time, the ministry emphasizes that the lack of financial follow-up is a result of both the political assignment and current regulations:
"The Ministry of Defense further notes that it is in accordance with what was politically agreed in the defense settlement 2018-2023 and the state grant rules that no separate financial follow-up has been carried out on the settlement funds."
olfi.dk
Kasper Junge Wester
-
16 January 2023
0
A Piranha V during Brave Lion 2022. Photo: Maria Sejr/Forsvarsgalleriet
UPDATED: The state auditors sharply criticized the Ministry of Defense on Monday. The criticism comes on the basis of two investigations carried out by the National Audit Office, both of which show that the ministry has no control over the finances and cannot explain whether the settlement funds have been used correctly. The structure of the Army's 1st Brigade in particular leaves much to be desired.
The Ministry of Defense has again found itself in headwinds after the State Auditors published two reports on Monday with strong criticism of the ministry's financial management and its lack of control over the implementation of the ongoing defense settlement."The state auditors find it critical that the Ministry of Defense has not organized financial management that enables the ministry to explain whether the settlement funds have been used to solve the tasks and achieve the goals and efficiencies that are foreseen in the defense settlement 2018-2023," appears from one of the two reports.
The state auditors further note that the Ministry of Defense is exempted from the state's general grant rules in several areas in order to ensure a flexible task solution, and that there are no legal or political requirements for the ministry to carry out a separate financial follow-up on the settlement initiatives. However, this does not exempt the ministry from keeping a close eye on how the money is used:
"It is the State Auditors' assessment that, even if these requirements have not been met, it must be expected that the ministry has an overview of whether the settlement funds are being used for the tasks and purposes stipulated in the defense settlement."
Limited opportunities to prioritize on an informed basis
The ministry's lack of control over settlement implementation has, among other things, been expressed in a number of delayed capacities, which are well described in the daily press. One of these is the much talked about air defense for the Army's 1st Brigade, while others have to do with the Navy's delayed anti-submarine capabilities.The many delays and outstanding materiel investments mean that, at the time of writing, Denmark is far from meeting both NATO's strength targets and the alliance's common target of spending two per cent. of bnp on the Armed Forces. Nato has on several occasions denounced this in particularly sharp terms in connection with the publication of the so-called Nato Defense Planning Capability Reviews . The latest edition was published in the autumn of 2022 and again invited criticism, but has not been put forward publicly by either the former S government or the current SVM government.
"The state auditors find it worrying that delays in materiel investments can have negative consequences for the Armed Forces' operational capacities and for Denmark's goal of increasing the share of defense expenditure to 2% of GDP in 2033."
The State Auditors' report further states that the Ministry of Defense "has not lived up to basic and generally widespread principles for good state financial management, which ensure transparency between grants, resource consumption and professional progress in the task solution. The consequence of the poor financial management is that the possibilities of the Folketing and the Ministry of Defense to assess the need for funding and prioritize on an informed basis are limited'.
Don't know how 4.4 billion DKK has been used
In view of the many funds that are on the way, the Ministry of Defense must strengthen financial management as soon as possible, state the State Auditors."In this connection, it is an aggravating circumstance that the State Auditors and the National Audit Office have for a number of years raised criticism of financial management in the area of defence, just as the settlement circle has stated in several settlements that the ministry's financial management should be strengthened."
In the second of the two reports, the State Auditors take a closer look at the lack of progress in the work to make the aforementioned 1st Brigade ready for deployment. Here, too, the Ministry of Defense has not succeeded in impressing the state auditors, who note that the Ministry of Defense "has not organized effective management of the construction of the brigade and has only followed up on finances and progress to a limited extent. The ministry thus does not know how the approx. 4.4 billion DKK for the construction has been used, or whether the funds are sufficient for the entire project'.
The article continues below the picture...
The Ministry of Defense is further criticized for having been too optimistic in its briefings on the construction of the brigade and for not having informed the settlement circle about the consequences the delays have for the overall settlement implementation.
Defense Minister Jakob Ellemann-Jensen (V) now has two months to respond to the criticism in the two reports.
The Ministry of Defense takes note of criticism
The Ministry of Defense issued a press release on Monday afternoon acknowledging the criticism."The Ministry of Defense takes note of the National Audit Office's criticism and will follow up on it as part of the upcoming defense settlement. The Ministry of Defense is concerned with developing and strengthening the ministerial area's transversal management, planning and implementation of political objectives in future defense settlements,' writes the ministry.
"The Ministry of Defense acknowledges that the management and reporting of the Armed Forces' construction of the brigade can and must be strengthened, as the identified challenges in implementation could advantageously have been recognized earlier in the settlement period."
At the same time, the ministry emphasizes that the lack of financial follow-up is a result of both the political assignment and current regulations:
"The Ministry of Defense further notes that it is in accordance with what was politically agreed in the defense settlement 2018-2023 and the state grant rules that no separate financial follow-up has been carried out on the settlement funds."
OLFI - Statsrevisorerne har løbende kritiseret Forsvarsministeriet og gør det nu igen
Forsvarsministeriet er atter havnet i modvind, efter at Statsrevisorerne mandag har udgivet to beretninger med kraftig kritik af ministeriets økonomistyring
olfi.dk
