Roundtable: The State Audit Reconsidered: The Comptroller after the Lindenstrauss Era
The Israel Democracy Institute| 4 Pinsker Street, Jerusalem
As the tenure of the State Comptroller, Justice (Emeritus) Micha Lindenstrauss, nears its conclusion, it is a good time to assess the goals and methods of the State Audit. Should the auditor issue recommendations or binding requirements? What is preferable - "real time" criticism or criticism after the fact? Should personal criticism be issued or should the focus be organizational? On Tuesday June 5, 2012, IDI's George Shultz Roundtable Forum convened to discuss these and other questions about the desired nature of the state audit.
Topics of discussion included:
- Is it appropriate for the State Comptroller to deal with political decisions and policies of certain branches of government?
- Should the Comptroller issue personal criticism rather than organizational criticism?
- What is the proper relationship between the State Audit and commissions of inquiry, which are sometimes used as alternatives?
- Is it appropriate for the Comptroller to deal with specific cases (as opposed to engaging in systemic criticism)?
- Is "real time" auditing desirable?
- Are the Comptroller's finding recommendations or are they binding?
- To what extent should auditing procedures be revealed to the media?
What is the level of judicial review of the Comptrollers work?
Moderator:
Attorney Dr. David Tadmor, Managing Partner at Tadmor & Co. Advocates
Special Guest:
Former Justice Micha Lindenstrauss, Outgoing State Comptroller and Ombudsman
Speakers (in alphabetical order):
- Mr. Boaz Aner, Deputy Director of the Government Control Division in Tel Aviv, State Comptroller's Office
- Attorney Efrat Barzilai, Gross, Hodak, Halevy, Greenberg & Co.
- Prof. Avi Ben- Bassat, Senior Fellow, The Israel Democracy Institute; Economist at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
- Former Minister and MK Ran Cohen, Former Minister of Industry and Trade and Former Chair of the State Control Committee
- Former Justice Dalia Dorner, President of the Israeli Press Council
- Minister Michael Eitan, Minister of Improvement of Government Services
- Mr. Aharon Fogel, Chair of the "Migdal" Insurance Company and Former Head of the Ministry of Finance
- Mr. Eyal Gabbai, Former Director General of the Prime Minister's Office
- Prof. Yitzhak Gal-Nur, Senior Fellow, Van Leer Jerusalem Institute
- Prof. Emanuel Gross, Co-Chair of the Law and Society Forum at the University of Haifa; Netanya College
- MK Yoel Hasson, Former Chair of the State Control Committee
- Attorney Yair Horowitz, Former Director General of the State Comptroller Office
- Prof. Mordechai Kremnitzer, Vice President of Research, The Israel Democracy Institute
- Former Minister and MK Rabbi Itshak Levy, Head of Implementation, The Israel Democracy Institute
- Attorney Orna Lin, Chair of the Lawyers Advanced Study Institute of the Israeli Bar Association and Vice President of the Press Council
- Mr. Nadiv Mordechai, Research Assistant, The Israel Democracy Institute
- MK Zvulun Orlev, Chairman, Knesset Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Fomer MK Ophir Pines, Director of the Institute for the Study of Local Government at Tel Aviv University
- Former MK Mali Polishuk, Chair of the State Audit Board and member of the Ra'anana City Council
- Tzachi Sa'ad, Bureau Chief and Senior Assistant to the State Comptroller at the State Comptroller's Office
- Mr. Jacob Seltzer, General Supervisor of State Audit, Prime Minister's Office
- Prof. Yossi Shain, Head of Aba Eben Diplomacy Program at Tel Aviv University; Professor of Comparative Government, Georgetown University
- Attorney Hillel Shamgar, Director of the State Comptroller's Ombudsman Office
- Professor Ira Sharkansky, Professor Emeritus, Department of Political Science, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
- MK Dr. Marina Solodkin, Chairman of the Knesset Subcommittee on Social Welfare; Member of the State Control Committee
- Mr. Zvi Vertikovsky, The State Comptroller's Office
- Prof. Yaffa Zilbershatz, Deputy President, Bar-Ilan University.
