Slovenian President's Office Audit Reveals Multiple Irregularities

The Court of Auditors issued a qualified opinion on the 2024 operations of the Office of President Nataša Pirc Musar, finding several breaches of statutes, internal rules and contract provisions. The audit noted that a senior official was not subjected to the required security clearance for access to EU classified data. Salary calculations were incorrect, resulting in an over‑payment of about €1,282 to a staff member due to an erroneous pay‑grade assignment. Three employees were assigned overtime that exceeded the legal limit of 20 hours per month, with one working more than 52 hours and two others over 34 hours. One employee was also paid a monthly “constant readiness” allowance despite no demonstrated need. Procurement practices were problematic: a public tender was awarded to a single bidder without obtaining price information, contract price indexes were misapplied, and vehicle‑use records were incomplete. The office paid €9,565 for a software application even though the delivery conditions were not fully met. The President’s Office has already implemented corrective measures during the audit and received recommendations for improving its procedures.