Initiative to audit NATO funds flows
The Netherlands Court of Audit has taken the initiative to audit the funds flows of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
The initiative was announced in a letter to the House of Representatives on 1 October 2013. It has been taken because the Court of Audit has concluded for the third year in succession that NATO's financial management is still a matter of concern. The International Board of Auditors for NATO, IBAN, stated in its annual report that NATO's expenditure amounted to €11 billion but it was not known precisely what had happened with nearly a third of the funds it had audited. The supreme audit institutions of the NATO member countries concluded along with IBAN that the situation was alarming.
In its letter to the House of Representatives, the Court of Audit wrote that it would audit NATO's funds flows and identify uncertainties by means of public information. The aims of its publication will be to provide taxpayers with an insight into the funds flows and to retain public confidence in NATO.