SRG receives good marks for economic efficiency
The federal government has given the SRG high marks for its operational efficiency: it noted that human resources are managed professionally, procurement has been steadily improved, and the advertising and marketing strategies are well-thought-out.
This is the conclusion of the third and final cycle of the federal government's performance audit of the SRG, the results of which were published by the Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM) on Thursday. OFCOM conducted the audits on behalf of the Federal Department of the Environment, Energy and Communications (DETEC).
In this last cycle, OFCOM scrutinized human resources, the purchase and procurement of services, and advertising acquisition. It found a high level of professionalism, but also room for improvement.
Recommendations for unification
Although staff development is comprehensive, it is only viewed positively to a limited extent by employees, the report states. In order to improve this assessment, OFCOM recommends that SRG create a holistic personnel development concept and handle training measures in a uniform manner.
With regard to purchasing, OFCOM praises SRG for attaching great importance to the establishment of a national purchasing organization for procurements. Purchasing has achieved increasing financial success in recent years. However, program and production purchasing is not covered by the general procurement guidelines. OFCOM recommends that SRG change this.
Implementation of the recommendations made during the performance audit will be followed up as part of the ordinary financial supervision of SRG, OFCOM writes in a statement.
From strategy to financial reporting
OFCOM had also given SRG high marks in the other two audit cycles. In 2014, the central management processes of corporate governance, strategy, strategy implementation, planning, management by objectives and internal audit were examined. In 2015, OFCOM audited the harmonized cost and performance accounting, financial reporting and real estate management.
Three quarters of SRG's funding comes from license fees. Last year, it received around CHF 1.2 billion in fees. Since the narrow vote on the revised Radio and Television Act (RTVA) in June 2015, discussions about the programming and costs of Swiss television have not ceased. The No Billag initiative to abolish fees is pending. (SDA)
