I. What is management control?

The management control system is a way of looking at the organization to facilitate it management in an organized way.

Management control in units of the public finance sector consists of all activities undertaken to ensure the implementation of goals and tasks in a lawful, effective, economical and timely manner (Art. 68. 1. Public Finance Act).

  1. Management control is most of the activities carried out so far as part of the entity's management - it is not a completely new tool;
  2. Management control does not focus on performing control activities - it is a much broader concept;
  3. The main task of management control is to set goals and tasks and to monitor their implementation;
  4. Management control is not control in the common understanding - because it does not focus on searching for irregularities and checking compliance of activities with procedures;
  5. Management control should not be equated with financial control - it is a broader concept;
  6. Management control should not be equated with internal audit and internal control - they are only one element of management control.

II. Statement na the state of management control

Minister of Education and Science may oblige management of the public entity (Rector) to preparation of an activity plan for the next year for this unit and preparation of a report on the implementation of the activity plan and submission of a statement on the state of management control for the previous year within the scope of the unit headed by him (University).

The basis for submitting the declaration are, among others:

  • monitoring the implementation of goals and tasks,
  • self-assessment of management control carried out taking into account management control standards for the public finance sector,
  • risk management process,
  • internal audits,
  • internal controls,
  • external controls,
  • other sources of information.

From 2012, the Minister of Education and Science obliged all heads of units to submit annual statements on the state of management control.

III. Self-assessmet of management control

Self-assessment of management control is a process in which the functioning of management control is assessed by employees and the management of the entity. It is a tool that can provide an overall picture of the functioning of management control in a relatively short time.

Thanks to the self-assessment, it is possible to obtain information on the functioning of management control, in particular in those areas where no audit or control activities have taken place. The results of the self-assessment may be one of the sources of knowledge about the functioning of management control, which are the basis for signing the declaration on the state of management control.

One of the methods of carrying out a self-assessment is the use of surveys (questionnaires) for this purpose. The self-assessment of management control is then performed by answering the questions formulated in the questionnaires.

Benefits of carrying out a self-assessment:

  • the entity's employees are directly involved in the assessment of risk and control mechanisms, which may contribute to the continuous improvement of the management control system, including risk management;
  • self-assessment identifies areas of the entity's activities that are functioning properly and which require change in order to function better and more efficiently;
  • improving communication between management and employees of the entity;
  • strengthening the awareness of the responsibility of the management and employees of the entity for the functioning of management control;
  • more effective use of the unit's resources through the improvement of procedures as well as the exchange of good practices between individual units and employees - informal procedures, rules and procedures.