An official meeting with the delegation of the United Arab Emirates Accountability Authority (UAEAA), led by the Chairman of the institution, His Excellency Humaid Obaid Khalifa Obaid Abushibs (Humaid Obaid Abushibs), took place at the National Audit Office of Lithuania.
  
During the bilateral meeting, which was also attended by Deputy Auditor General Živilė Kindurytė, Head of Administration Egidijus Purlys, Head of the Communication and International Relations Department Lina Nuobarienė, and Audit Methodology Advisor of the Innovation and Methodology Department Akvilė Dovydaitytė, Auditor General Irena Segalovičienė and the Chairman of the UAEAA discussed the operational priorities of the supreme audit institutions, exchanged insights on the specificities of the institutions' mandates, and discussed areas of mutual interest and potential directions of cooperation.
  
“Although our institutions operate in different contexts and have distinct mandates, we face very similar questions—how to strengthen audit impact, better leverage technology, and ensure that public sector accountability creates real value for the state and its citizens. Today, as data, artificial intelligence, and the ability to respond swiftly to emerging risks become increasingly vital, meetings like this allow us not only to compare experiences, but also to identify more clearly where we can learn from one another. We see potential for practical, mutually beneficial cooperation and continued dialogue,” says Auditor General I. Segalovičienė.
  
Humaid Obaid Abushibs has led the UAEAA since late 2022, following his appointment to the position by the President of the UAE. Humaid Obaid Abushibs represents his country on the Governing Board of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) and actively contributes to the fields of audit innovation, digital technologies, application of artificial intelligence, transparency, and public sector accountability.
  
he UAEAA is the Supreme Audit Institution of the United Arab Emirates, reporting directly to the President of the country. The institution conducts financial and performance audits, evaluates internal control systems, implements transparency and accountability standards in the federal government, and shapes policies for combating corruption and protecting public funds.

Lithuania has committed to renovating more than 2 million square metres of public buildings by 2030, which may require a further EUR 681 million. However, the National Audit Office’s audit, “Improving the Energy Efficiency of Public buildings”, shows that before allocating the millions needed for renovation, a simpler question must be answered: do the state and municipalities need all the buildings in which they plan to invest?
  
The audit found that the renovation of public buildings is not sufficiently linked to the management of state-owned property. Most state property managers do not systematically assess how much property they need to carry our their functions. This creates a risk of investing in buildings that may be disposed of in the long term.
  
In 2024, the state owned 9.02 million square metres of property – more than 25,000 objects. Although its total area decreased by 8.4 percent between 2020 and 2024, maintenance costs doubled over the same period – from EUR 176 million to EUR 354 million per year.
  
“Renovating a building that the state will not need in the long run is not cost-effective. This involves not only investment in its renovation, but also ongoing costs for heating and maintenance. This is public money, which must be invested where it creates long-term value. Therefore, before allocating hundreds of millions of euros to renovation, we must assess how much property we hold that is not essential for the provision of public services, dispose of it, and invest only in what is truly necessary,” says Auditor General Irena Segalovičienė.
  
Before allocating millions to the renovation of public buildings, it is essential to assess which property the state actually needs
  
Lithuania has committed to renovating at least 3 percent of the designated floor area of public buildings each year – a target set out in the Energy Efficiency Directive. By 2030, the plan is to renovate nearly 2.2 million square metres, but between 2021 and 2025 only about a fifth – 436,000 square metres – was renovated. Taking into account projects already underway and the funding planned for 2026–2027, around 970,000 square metres of public building floor area would be renovated by 2030. The investment required to renovate the remaining 1.2 million square metres could amount to around EUR 681 million.
  
When planning future investments, it is important to regularly assess whether the available area meets the institutions’ needs, how efficiently it is being used, and which part of the property could be disposed of.
  
However, such a systematic assessment is only ensured for state-owned property managed centrally. The Turto Bankas (Property Bank), which centrally manages state-owned property, currently manages only 7.9 percent of all state-owned property. Ministries, their subordinate institutions and other state property managers do not systematically assess how much property they require and how efficiently it is being used. Consequently, before investing in the renovation of a building, it is not always assessed whether this property will be required by the state in the long term.
  
One of the most important projects for optimising state-owned property is the redevelopment of the Goštautas quarter in Vilnius into a centralised campus for state institutions. The plan was to bring state institutions together in one place, make more efficient use of administrative area, and dispose of some of the energy-inefficient and costly-to-maintain buildings. However, at the time of the audit, a final decision on the implementation of the entire project has not yet been taken.
  
The National Audit Office proposes reducing the total area of state-owned property
 
The National Audit Office recommends that the Government set out specific measures to reduce the total area of state-owned property and to manage the majority of it centrally, and that it implements these measures. To this end, it is first necessary to systematically assess how much and what type of property state institutions actually need to carry out their functions, and how efficiently it is being used. This would enable a better assessment of state institutions’ property requirements and the systematic disposal of buildings that are no longer necessary for the execution of their functions.
  
A smaller area of managed property would mean lower costs for heating, maintenance and repairs. At the same time, the area of buildings requiring renovation in the future would be reduced, as would the need for the necessary investment.

Auditor General Director Irena Segalovičienė and Deputy Auditor General Živilė Kindurytė participated in an international forum organised by the Ukrainian Accounting Chamber in Kyiv “The Future of Public Audit in Times of Global Challenges“ and met with Inga Stanytė-Toločkienė, Ambassador of the Republic of Lithuania to Ukraine.
  
Forum topics and Lithuania’s messages
  
At the forum, heads and representatives of the supreme audit institutions (SAIs) of 18 countries, international experts, and representatives of the Verkhovna Rada and the Government of Ukraine, as well as EU institutions, sought solutions to ensure the independence and impact of public audit and the resilience of the state in times of crisis. The Heads of the SAIs of Lithuania, Poland, Estonia and Latvia, as well as the Vice-President of the Slovak SAI, attended the event in Kyiv in person, while representatives from other countries joined the discussions remotely.
  
Participants at the international forum focused primarily on audit independence and operations during crises, the resilience of public finances, the implementation of recommendations and the sustainability of changes.
  
During the third session of the forum, “SAI Recommendations in Times of Crisis: From Implementation to Impact“, the Auditor General presented Lithuania’s experience in assessing the state’s preparedness to protect citizens from external threats and audit recommendations regarding the modernisation of military equipment.

“When assessing the state’s resilience and preparedness for threats, the traditional audit approach – economy, efficiency and effectiveness – is no longer sufficient today. In the face of a crisis, when planning audits, carrying them out and formulating recommendations, we consciously focus on a systemic question: is the state prepared for threats? Over the past year and a half, while auditing defence finances, military acquisitions, procurement, early warning systems and shelters, the national reserve and civil resistance, we have consciously sought to assess the state’s resilience in a comprehensive manner. For the audit to genuinely help strengthen this preparedness, it is critically important to formulate impact-oriented recommendations, the successful implementation of which requires intensive dialogue and constructive cooperation with the audited entities. Only in this way can the audit findings be transformed not into a formal document, but into timely decisions and real changes that strengthen the state’s resilience, “ emphasised Auditor General Irena Segalovičienė.
  
The Auditor General shared Lithuania’s experience of defence audits with the international colleagues, demonstrating that increased funding does not in itself create defence capabilities due to systemic management shortcomings. Therefore, in its recommendations, the National Audit Office proposed establishing new methodological practices and making it mandatory to calculate indicators of defence capability development. It placed particular emphasis on the importance of publicising the recommendations and progress made in their implementation and presented innovative Lithuanian solutions in this area: the National Audit Office’s Audit Recommendation Implementation System (ARIS) and its latest product – the Public Sector Progress and Risks Dashboard – which provides an interactive overview of the changes taking place in Lithuania and where risks arise, based on data collected by the National Audit Office.
  
The experience of our Ukrainian colleagues in assessing the time factor is particularly important for the audit community. Under normal circumstances, protracted procedures indicate inefficiency, while in a crisis, delays result in defence capabilities not being acquired in time – capabilities on which the security of the state and its people directly depends. The National Audit Office has also highlighted this issue in its audits of the Lithuanian defence sector – the recommendations emphasise the need to clearly distinguish between the responsibilities of advisory and decision-making bodies and to set strict deadlines for coordination. At the forum, the Auditor General stressed that accountability and speed are not mutually exclusive. According to her, good governance should enable swift and responsible decision-making, rather than paralysing it.

During the forum, Olha Pishchanska, President of the Accounting Chamber of Ukraine, highlighted the importance of independent audit in strengthening the state in wartime. The experience of the Ukrainian colleagues in working under wartime conditions – from audit planning and duration to the management of classified information – is particularly relevant to the Lithuanian delegation. This experience is valuable in strengthening the National Audit Office’s preparedness for crises.
  
“The professional resilience and leadership of our Ukrainian colleagues command great respect. Their ability to ensure business continuity and maintain their commitment to operating in accordance with the international standards of supreme audit institutions demonstrates a high level of professional dedication; however, to do so in the midst of a devastating war is a true institutional feat. The Ukrainian Accounting Chamber demonstrates that transparency, accountability and international audit principles remain a solid foundation for the state even in the face of crisis,“ says Auditor General Segalovičienė.
  
Meeting at the Lithuanian Embassy
  
vices for Lithuanian citizens. The National Audit Office audited this area last year and was therefore interested in how the quality of services is ensured in wartime conditions. They also discussed Lithuania’s support for Ukraine, the challenges arising and the embassy’s role in coordinating this support.
  
“It is crucial for us how the state looks after its citizens, especially in the face of a crisis, so we were interested in how the embassy provides consular services and organises its work. We can see that it is operating under truly difficult conditions. It was important to hear that support for Ukraine is being provided not only at the political level, but also through cooperation between independent institutions and state officials; therefore, the professional relationship with Ukraine’s Supreme Audit Institution is of great mutual significance,“ said the Auditor General.