20th August 2026, Skopje - Ministry of Finance and State Audit Office are strengthening their inter-institutional cooperation and coordination with the aim of building a stronger, more efficient and sound public finance management system. Today, the Minister of Finance, Gordana Dimitrieska-Kochoska, and Auditor General, Maksim Acevski, signed a Memorandum of Cooperation.
As the Minister of Finance Dimitrieska-Kochoska emphasized, today’s signing of the Memorandum of Cooperation with the State Audit Office strengthens the partnership that brings together the expert, the technical and the analytical capacities of two key institutions committed to safeguarding public funds and creates a stronger institutional basis for joint action in preventing and detecting irregularities, fraud and corruption.
“The Ministry of Finance and the State Audit Office confirm their political and professional commitment to strong institutions, responsible public finance management and zero tolerance for corruption. This partnership is not just an administrative step, but rather a substantive reform, laying the foundation for stronger coordination, greater transparency and more efficient protection of public funds. It is our obligation to ensure that every denar from the national budget and every euro from the EU funds is spent in full compliance with the law, for the intended purpose and with accountability and in the best interest of the citizens”, the Minister said at the signing ceremony.
“By signing this Memorandum, we are establishing an uncompromising system of institutional synergy which, by applying international auditing standards and functioning of the AFCOS network, guarantees that every taxpayer’s denar is safeguarded against irregularities and frauds. This cooperation is not just about raising transparency and accountability to the highest level in line with the European values, but also about improving the quality of services for the citizens, making sure that taxpayer’s money is used as intended, towards delivering quality, timely and continuous public services”, Auditor General Acevski said.
The initiative for this Memorandum of Cooperation builds on the good practice in the EU Member States and creates a framework for cooperation in several areas of mutual interest, allows for exchange of experience and knowledge and data exchange, strengthening of professional capacities and implementation of the European standards.
The Memorandum will provide for the two institutions to exchange knowledge and experience through working meetings, workshops, conferences, seminars, trainings and other forms of professional development. SAO employees will be able to lecture in trainings organized by the Ministry of Finance through the Public Finance Academy Department, with the experts from the Ministry of Finance providing input in the programs for continuous professional development of SAO personnel. The Memorandum also envisages regular exchange of professional literature, accounting and auditing standards, methodological manuals, annual audit programs, as well as final audit reports and action plans prepared by the public entities. Activities to raise public awareness about preventing and identifying irregularities and fraud are also envisaged under the Memorandum.
