The Netherlands Court of Audit checks whether the Dutch central government spends public funds economically, efficiently and effectively.
Our statutory task is to audit the revenue and expenditure of central government. We report on our work once a year to parliament on Accountability Day (the third Wednesday in May).
Parliament can use our audit opinion to grant the government discharge, thus releasing it from responsibility for its implementation of policy. We also report separately to parliament so that its members can decide on the effectiveness of each minister’s actions during the previous year.
We audit dozens of policy fields, from special needs education and the replacement of the F-16 fighter aircraft to measures to overcome the credit crisis.
The Netherlands Court of Audit consists of the Board and its staff.