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Alexei Kudrin was appointed Chairman of the Accounts Chamber on May 22.

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President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr Kudrin, have you started?

Chairman of the Accounts Chamber Alexei Kudrin: Yes, I started my duties a week ago. The first week was very busy.

We are finishing the audits across the ministries and agencies regarding their performance last year. I can tell you that almost every ministry or agency has some shortcomings in fulfilling state programmes, even if only the slightest. Some have not achieved target indicators or committed financial violations. There are faults here and there. Almost all ministers and agency heads will receive recommendations.

Based on the results of the previous year, 10 documents have already been submitted to the Prosecutor’s Office. Overall last year, the Accounts Chamber submitted 136 documents to law enforcement agencies, including 86 to the Prosecutor’s Office. Thirty-five criminal cases were opened from the previous year. Therefore, there are many documents that will require remediation of the situation.

But now I want to point out that it is important that the audits focus to a larger extent on evaluating the performance for achieving the targets of the strategic goals set in your May executive order and the state programmes that will correspond to these strategic goals. Accurately describing the result and how these resources influence the results will be the Accounts Chamber’s main responsibility. That being said, the Chamber will not cut down on the work related to the analysis of financial indicators, targeted use of resources and, of course, as I said, efficient use of funds.

Vladimir Putin: Mr Kudrin, but if you, with your experience and knowledge, which, of course, is extensive, and your view of the problem that I know very well, foresee this new quality of the Accounts Chamber, that would be very good. It would help to achieve the final goal we all are working towards.

To tell the truth, the formal work is important for its targeted use, non-targeted use and effectiveness in general, but the main thing is to assess its final result. If you manage to build the Accounts Chamber’s work in such a way, that would be very good. A regular report for the State Duma deputies to see how the budget money is spent and to direct the Russian Government accordingly, inform me in time, would help very much.

Alexei Kudrin: Yes, this is exactly what we are going to do. The main approaches were discussed with all the parties during the State Duma meeting when I was appointed. Now we have discussed them at a meeting of the Accounts Chamber Board. In general, they were supported, so we will emphasise the work towards results.

This will take a certain precision of control methods and standards for both inspectors and the ministries to understand the demands and that they will be asked more about the results than simply about the financing process.

We have also discussed the need to make the ministries’ and agencies’ work more transparent. We have to open more data that can be discussed and analysed to assess the results.

This means that countering corruption will also remain the Accounts Chamber’s priority.

Vladimir Putin: Very well.

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