Russia and The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)

New Accountability Strengthening Program in Russia (ASP)

• About the Program
• Recent Activities

Canada-Russia Parliamentary Program (CRPP)

• About the Program
• Activities

Parliamentary Centre work in CIS

Accountability Strengthening Program

In September 2004, the Parliamentary Centre launched its new Accountability Strengthening Program. Scheduled to continue until early 2007 the program has three components providing assistance respectively in:

• Expanding performance auditing to the regions of the Russian Federation and strengthening linkages between regional accounting chambers and regional legislatures.
• The development of a system of state financial control in the Russian Federation
• Reforming the internal administrative and financial management of the Russian Federal Assembly.

Background

In 2001, the Canada-Russia Parliamentary Program launched a pilot project designed to strengthen parliamentary oversight in Russia, in partnership with the Russian Federal Assembly and the Accounting Chamber of the Russian Federation (ACRF). With the assistance of the Office of the Auditor General of Canada (OAG), the Accounting Chamber developed performance audit ¹ methodology that was employed in two pilot audits (by two of the ACRF's twelve audit directorates), the results of which were reviewed by the appropriate Federal Assembly committees. While there are other forms of auditing that are employed by governments and corporations, such as attest auditing and compliance auditing, the results of performance audits tend to be the most attractive to parliamentarians. This is because performance auditing asks whether programs were run economically and efficiently and whether the government has the means to measure their effectiveness.

The fact that two audit directorates in the ACRF have now developed capacity to conduct performance audits is an important step towards spreading lessons learned to the other audit directorates in the ACRF as well as to the Accounting Chambers of the Subjects of the Federation (regional ACs). The regional ACs currently lack the capacity to conduct performance audits. Similarly, most regional legislatures lack the capacity to hold hearings on regional AC reports.

Introducing performance auditing is one of the numerous aspects of a major reform effort currently under way in Russia to improve budget efficiency through: (1) introducing a results-oriented state budget and (2) strengthening state financial control.

At present, Russia lacks a general financial control framework and the legislation on the functions and interaction of the various control bodies is scattered in various laws and regulations. Thus, strengthening state financial control requires the development of a concept and legislation to clarify the roles of various audit bodies in internal audit, external audit and program evaluation.

Improving efficiency of budget spending requires also that adequate internal management practices are in place in government institutions. Canadian assistance, provided through CRPP, has proven to be of particular use in reforming the internal administration of the Russian Federal Assembly. Yet, continued support is needed, for example in the areas of setting and managing Senators' and Members' office budgets, planning and funding committee work and introducing a results-based parliamentary budget.

Goals and Objectives

The overall goal of the project is to contribute to the establishment of efficient, transparent and accountable structures of governance in the Russian Federation.

More specifically, the project has the following three objectives:

• To increase transparency and accountability in the use of government funds through strengthening parliamentary oversight at the federal and regional levels.

This objective is to be achieved through:

• Building and strengthening the capacity of the Accounting Chamber of the Russian Federation (ACRF) and regional Accounting Chambers in the Russian Federation to conduct performance audits and generate and publicize transparent and accurate audit reports;
• Strengthening the capacity of the Russian Federal Assembly and selected regional legislatures to work with the ACRF and regional Accounting Chambers; and
• Developing a legislative base for the functioning of Accounting Chambers in the Russian Federation.

• To strengthen budgetary accountability in the Russian federation.

This objective is to be achieved through:

• Developing a legislative base for a system of state financial control.

• To reform the internal administrative and financial management of the Russian Federal Assembly (the Duma and the Federation Council).

This is to be achieved through:

• Improving the management of the system of providing office budgets to Senators in the Federation Council of the Russian Federation;
• Develop existing and/or introduce new mechanisms to improve the functioning of the Federal Assembly (FA) administrative apparatus;
• Improve existing and/or develop new mechanisms to improve internal financial management in the FA.

Russian Partners

The program will work with the Russian Federal Assembly, the Accounting Chamber of the Russian Federation, the Association of the Accounting Chambers of the Russian Federation, Regional Accounting Chambers and Legislatures.

Canada-Russia Parliamentary Program (CRPP)

Background

Since April 1994, the Centre has managed the Canada-Russia Parliamentary Program (CRPP). The program started with parliamentary development and staff training with the two chambers of the Russian Federal Assembly (the State Duma and the Federation Council). Phases two and three included activities with regional legislatures of the Russian Federation. In July 2000, CRPP added an accountability component to its program, designed to improve parliamentary oversight by strengthening the linkages between the Russian Supreme Audit Institution (the Accounting Chamber of the Russian Federation) and the Russian Federal Assembly. From January 2002 September 2004 a pilot project was implemented to assist the Accounting Chamber to introduce performance auditing in its work and to strengthen the capacity of the Federal Assembly to consider performance audit reports. Following the successful completion of CRPP in the fall of 2004 the Parliamentary Centre launched its new Accountability Strengthening Program. For more information see the article "Hearings in Federation Council Mark New Era in Parliamentary Oversight in Russia and Successful Conclusion to Parliamentary Centre Pilot Project".

The program was funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and operated in close collaboration with the Parliament of Canada. CRPP's program history is presented below, beginning with the program's latest phases.

Most Recent CRPP Work in Russia

In January 2002, CRPP launched a pilot project to help the Accounting Chamber of the Russian Federation adopt performance auditing and to assist in strengthening its capacity to share performance audit results with the Russian Parliament. Under the project, the Accounting Chamber of the Russian Federation developed performance audit methodology that was employed in two pilot audits, the results of which were reviewed by the appropriate Federal Assembly Committees. The Parliamentary Centre assisted also in building and strengthening the capacity of the Federal Assembly to interact with the Accounting Chamber and to review its performance audit reports.

This pilot project was built on work that commenced in July 2000 aiming to improve parliamentary oversight by strengthening the linkages between the Accounting Chamber and the Duma Sub-Committee on Financial Control (the Russian equivalent to the Public Accounts Committee).

Under its Federal Assembly component, CRPP assisted the Russian Federation Council, in reforming its internal administrative and financial management after it was transformed into a full-time body in the beginning of 2002. Under CRPP, the experience of the Canadian Senate’s Standing Committee on Internal Economy was used in the establishment of a Commission of Internal Economy in the Federation Council. The Centre assisted the newly-established body in introducing in the Federation Council a system of support for parliamentarians, similar to the model used in the Senate of Canada, where Senators are allocated office budgets that they can use to meet their particular needs and priorities.

Phase Three

In March 1999, the Parliamentary Centre received funding from CIDA for a new, three-year phase of the CRPP. Skills development, capacity-building, and policy advice were provided to the Federal Assembly and to regional legislative bodies in the Siberian Regional District by organizing study visits to Canada and training and advisory missions to Russia.

In addition to continuing long-standing cooperation with the Russian federal parliament, CRPP collaborated with the legislatures of seven important regions in Russia's north. This northern program aimed to contribute to the evolution of legislation in three priority areas: aboriginal issues, local government, and natural resources. The program responded to a genuine interest among Russian legislators in Canadian experience with federalism and the north. It also contributed to institutional development in the seven partner legislatures:

• Topic 1 Local government: Komi Republic, Krasnoyarsk Krai
• Topic 2 Natural resource development: Tyumen Oblast, Khanty-Mansiy Autonomous Okrug, Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Taimyr Autonomous Okrug
• Topic 3 Aboriginal issues: Evenk Autonomous Okrug Legislators and staff visited Canada for examination of aboriginal or municipal or natural-resource policy and legislation, depending on the specific interest identified by their legislature. Canadian experts visited the northern legislatures to provide legal and policy advice. Additionally, focused workshops led by Canadian subject or policy experts were organized in the Russian northern regions.
  In parallel to this northern, regional program, CRPP continued to implement a program between Canada's and Russia's federal parliaments. It aimed to support the institutional development of the State Duma and the Federation Council, the lower and upper houses of the Russian Federal Assembly. CRPP also sought to contribute to policy development at the federal level on issues that were being reviewed with northern legislatures.

Phases One and Two

The Canada-Russia Parliamentary Program began in spring 1994 with a training program for staff in Russia's Federal Assembly. Starting in summer 1996, a second phase of CRPP added a regional component, running seminars, visits and legislative exchanges with provincial legislatures in the Volga region and in Russia's North-West.

At the federal level, CRPP organized study visits for almost 100 deputies and staff from the Russian Federal Assembly. Delegations studied in detail the operation of the Canadian Parliament, including information technology and personnel management, as well as such key policy areas as federal-regional relations, social policy, and the north. Together with the Russian parliament, CRPP ran a seminar on legislative drafting. These events were complemented by an ongoing exchange of information and legislation.

Parliamentary Centre Work in CIS

The Parliamentary Centre has also assisted parliamentary reforms in CIS countries. In 2002 under contract from the United Nations Development Program, the Centre provided expertise on parliamentary development in Ukraine, focusing on strengthening parliament’s linkages to the Accounting Chamber and the Human Rights Ombudsman of Ukraine.

In Kazakhstan, the Parliamentary Centre conducted in December 2003 a preliminary assessment of the needs of the Kazakh Parliament in reforming parliamentary participation in the budget process, parliamentary oversight, management of human resources and internal financial management…more

¹ Also known as value-for-money or efficiency audit.

² While held under the Canada-Russia Parliamentary Program, this was the first activity from a cooperation plan between the Centre the ACRF and the FC for work under the new Accountability Strengthening Program.