Deepening collaboration between universities and the Netherlands Court of Audit
The collaboration the Netherlands Court of Audit (NCA) initiated with Dutch universities some years ago led to intensive forms of knowledge sharing and concrete projects in 2024.
Utrecht University, for instance, commenced a study at the end of the year into the impact of the NCA’s audits, and Sjors Overman became the third academic to advise the Supreme Audit Institution in The Hague. Arno Nuijten and Nick Benschop, IT auditors from Erasmus University Rotterdam, had previously shared their knowledge and advice with the NCA’s auditors.
Conversely, Maarten de Jong of the NCA became a visiting scholar at the University of North Carolina in Charlotte, USA, in autumn 2024 and will carry out several months’ academic research into the use of economic, social and governance information in government.
The momentum will continue in 2025. NCA auditor and Radboud University lecturer Ruud van Druenen will soon become a visiting scholar at Oxford University, collaborating with British academics on parliament’s use of the reports issued by Supreme Audit Institutions.
Universities under pressure, knowledge sharing in the public interest
Contact with the IT audit and operational audit programmes of Erasmus University Rotterdam and the accountancy course at Nyenrode Business University has also been stepped up. In its capacity as the independent auditor of the Dutch central government, the NCA also has close ties with financial audit programmes. Public administration, geo-information, journalism and fiscal law students from 6 universities of applied sciences and research universities visited the NCA in 2024 to learn about its role and working methods.
NCA Board member Barbara Joziasse attended a visit by a group of journalism and media master students from the University of Amsterdam. “It was really challenging and educational to talk to these young people about communication and the positioning of our High Council of State.” She also highlighted the importance of knowledge sharing. “The pressure universities are experiencing makes it all the more important for professionals to learn from each other in the public interest. As a Supreme Audit Institution, we can benefit from the latest academic insights into audit. Our people can in turn share the innovations in their work and their knowhow and experience with the universities in areas that benefit the government and thus the whole of society.”
Knowledge sharing is one of the reasons the NCA encourages its staff to become visiting scholars. In 2024, 12 members of staff regularly gave lectures at higher education institutions. The NCA also supports its doctoral candidates. Four staff members are external PhD students at present and several others are exploring the possibilities.
Audit and emotion
The NCA currently counts 35 PhD graduates among its staff and a candidate at Leiden University hopes to round off her studies at the NCA in 2025. Her thesis asks how Supreme Audit Institutions can increase their impact. One of her supervisors is NCA auditor and Leiden University professor Sjoerd Keulen. Her project should prompt more research into the language used by Supreme Audit Institutions and how civil servants at the ministries should act on it.
Professor Keulen touched on this theme during his inaugural lecture at Leiden University in June 2024. The NCA is funding his chair at the university for 5 years. “Audit might seem emotionless, but it isn’t,” he said. “So bear in mind the emotions felt by whoever is presented with an audit report.”
Expected in 2025
The NCA will again invite 30 trainees to its offices and welcome groups of students in 2025. It will award its third Thesis Prize on 27 February. 3 students have been nominated from the 15 entries: Christel van de Wal (Open Universiteit), Eva Schreuder (Erasmus University Rotterdam) and Tijn Voerman (Erasmus School of Economics).
Academics specialising in data analytics, operational and IT audit, the law and other fields will again be invited to visit the NCA. The second Audit and Evaluation Festival is planned for the autumn and meetings will be organised in collaboration with the Central Government Audit Service to consider performance auditing and innovative methods.