Source: O Globo Online - RJ - OPINION - 20/10/2009

The Federal Court of Accounts is an auxiliary body of the Legislative Power that functions as an independent audit of the expenses of federal entities or that indirectly involve Treasury resources. The federal government has its own audit, the Corregedoria Geral, with ministry status, but TCU's role is irreplaceable precisely because it deals with an organ from outside the Executive structure.

As it involves public money, government spending is subject to legal and administrative procedures, which are generally more bureaucratic than for private activities.

But this bureaucracy almost always follows a routine well known to government agencies and state companies, as the rules do not change quickly.

TCU, in turn, has improved its body of auditors in recent years. The reservations made in the monitoring of expenses are well accepted or open space for counter-arguments that contribute to advancing the procedures.

There are specific situations that this routine can actually hinder. For such cases, the law may allow exceptions, and it is up to Congress to regulate them.

However, the general rule cannot be ignored at the pleasure of the government, as the Planalto Palace intends to stimulate bills that in practice will limit TCU's capacity for action.

The Court's auditors, starting next year, will only be able to stop works to investigate irregularities for a maximum of 90 days, and there will also be a need for congressional consent. It is clear that not all the changes envisaged will represent a setback. Law 8.666, of bids, can in fact be improved, providing for the adoption of the electronic auction for expenses in the amount of up to R $ 500 thousand (from this value, the technical qualification of the participants must be considered as much as the smallest price). What can not be TCU become scapegoat, being responsible for the delays in the works of PAC (Growth Acceleration Program).

As the expenditure routine and procedures are well known, when the Court finds irregularity, it is because the error is at the origin. It is easy to blame TCU for delays when the problem is in poorly formulated projects, in managerial incompetence.