The Association of Members of the Brazilian Audit Courts, known as Atricon, will lead the third cycle of the National Public Transparency Program (PNTP) this year. This program, already consolidated in the Court of Auditors System, evaluates the quality of transparency portals, mandatory for established powers, autonomous bodies and public bodies. For those who don’t know it yet, it’s worth explaining what PNTP is.
According to the Law on Access to Information (LAI), these portals must be created and managed in such a way that they are easily accessible, updated regularly and provide information in at least 20 different dimensions. These dimensions cover a wide range of areas and topics, from payroll and procurement to priority and institutional information, including per diems, contracts, income, expenses, tax exemptions, health, education, among others. In short, public information must be available to the public, to the citizen, to the user.
This requirement is known as active transparency. Passive transparency, on the other hand, refers to information that is not immediately available, but which can be requested for access by citizens. However, the principle of transparency goes beyond the LAI, being guaranteed by the Federal Constitution and strengthened by complementary laws, such as the Law on Fiscal Responsibility (LC n. 101/2000) and the law dealing with transparency in accountability (LC n. 131/09).
The Federal Court of Auditors and the Court of Auditors of Mato Grosso are key partners in the implementation of the PNTP, together with the support of bodies such as the Rui Barbosa Institute (IRB), the National Association of Ministers and Deputy Counselors of the Courts of accounts (Audicon), the National Council of Internal Control (Conaci), the Brazilian Association of Municipal Accounting Courts (Abracom), the National Council of Presidents of Accounting Courts (CNPTC), the Association of Official Public Control Bodies of Mercosul (ASUR ). Likewise, it is essential to highlight the active participation of the internal control bodies of the delegations, the autonomous bodies and the other subjects involved; and, furthermore, the contribution of all 33 Courts of Auditors which certify the assessment carried out by the internal auditors.
The program originally aimed to map the level of transparency of the portals, publicize these results and grant certifications – silver, gold and diamond seals – to those who achieved levels of transparency considered acceptable. However, given the current landscape and the results obtained in previous PNTP cycles, the need to go beyond the simple evaluation and inspection of transparency portals becomes evident.
In this context, having passed the period of awareness and orientation aimed at those responsible for company reporting, it is now up to the courts of auditors, within the prerogatives and limits established by the legal system, to exercise their sanctioning power to ensure that the public transparency is implemented as the highest and most effective form of exercising social control.
This evolution reflects a significant change in the approach of the courts of auditors, indicating a movement towards a more active and interventionist position with regard to the promotion of public transparency.
The lack of transparency of the information that must be made available to Brazilian society must be clearly indicated in the public accounts of the executive at all levels: federal, state and municipal. This registration obligation also applies to the management accounts of other public bodies and entities. In the context of public accounts, the lack of transparency constitutes a violation of the obligations established by the Federal Constitution, complementary laws and other legal provisions. When it comes to management accounts, the lack of transparency represents a legal breach and it is essential that auditors take a more assertive stance on this issue.
This topic raises the expectation that, soon, there will be a coordinated and effective mobilization by Brazil’s external oversight bodies, which could also encourage improvements in current legislation. The effort aimed at improving existing programs and creating a unified transparency portal for the entire Public Administration is intense and continuous. The integration of cutting-edge technologies, such as artificial intelligence, is essential to ensure that the information available is always current and accurate.
The adoption of this unique transparency portal model is essential not only to maintain the timeliness and accuracy of information, but also to promote more transparent and accessible public management. By incorporating technological advances such as artificial intelligence, the portal has the potential to transform the way information is presented and accessed by the public, ensuring it is understandable and verifiable.
Consider that, of the 8,045 transparency portals evaluated in the 2023 cycle (without having yet reached the over 11,300 existing portals, even if this is the objective), only 16.4% presented rates higher than 75% compared to the 124 criteria evaluated . For the executive branch, these criteria extend up to 258 test items.
However, be prepared for an alarming fact: 31.9% of these portals have basic, initial or even non-existent levels of transparency. Yes, there are portals that are mere “figurations”. They exist, but they do not provide any relevant information, acting as real monuments to opacity. Furthermore, there are entities that do not even have a transparency portal on their official websites.
In addressing this critical issue, auditors play a vital role in promoting the standardisation, guidance, encouragement, induction and monitoring of active transparency. This effort not only addresses a persistent problem, but also strengthens democratic participation, since external control only becomes truly effective when citizens have concrete means to exercise it.
These concrete means translate into access to updated and easily accessible information. Questions like “How much does employee X earn? What is manager Y’s salary? Who won a particular tender? What is the content of that contract?” must receive a clear and direct response on the Transparency Portals.
In this context, the National Public Transparency Program emerges as a lasting initiative, with the potential to catalyze significant improvements in transparency portals. This effort represents a significant step towards a public administration that prioritizes clarity, responsibility and citizen participation. The implementation of such an advanced and integrated transparency system will not only facilitate access to information for all citizens, but will also strengthen social control mechanisms and contribute to a culture of integrity and trust in public institutions.
Source: Terra
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