Vilnius , Lithuania June 2011 Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation

1. Experience of the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation in Performance Auditing of Public Debt Management Vilnius, Lithuania June 2011 Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation

2. Main Objectives of Debt Policy in the Audit Period • To ensure the federal budget balance and keep the high level of debt sustainability achieved in the recent years • To develop the national government securities market • To further reduce the relative amount of the external public debt of the Russian Federation

3. Criteria of public debt management assessment in terms of ensuring debt sustainability and current ability to perform obligations as the main debt policy objective

4. Behavior of indicators applied for the public debt management assessment in terms of ensuring debt sustainability and current ability to perform obligations as the main debt policy objective Reference information for the period 2004-2006 is provided in underlined Italic type, outside the audit period.

5. Positions of Estimated Figures within Indicative Thresholds (0-1)

6. Results of the variation analysis of indicators used for public debt management assessment in terms of ensuring debt sustainability and current ability to perform obligations: • - In the audit period (2007-2010), all indicators used for assessment were below the indicative thresholds; • - Certain indicators were far below the indicative thresholds evidencing that there was a wide margin for debt sustainability. And the indicators with the minimum indicative threshold fixed were also at the “safe” level; • Dynamics of certain indicators and analysis of factors determining these changes showed that some indicators had changed in relation to the indicative thresholds due to general economic factors and implementation of certain debt-related and budgeting decisions, and was not directly related to improvement or decrease in the public debt management performance. With that, some of these changes were posing certain additional threats to the federal budget. • Final Performance Assessment • Taking into account all the factors analyzed, as part of the general integral performance assessment of the Russia’s public debt management during the period of 2007-2010, the public debt management was assessed as quite efficient in terms of ensuring debt sustainability and current ability to perform obligations.

7. Conclusion • Basic indicators of assessment of the Russia’s public debt management performance in the context of ensuring debt sustainability and current ability to perform obligations as one of the main objectives of the government policy as approved by the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation in the course of the control activity, can be applied as a separate group of indicators included into the general system of performance indicators for assessment of public debt management. • It was decided to develop further cooperation between the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation in order to prepare an extensive list of criteria for performance assessmentofpublic debt management.

8. Experience of the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation in Performance Auditing of Public Debt Management Vilnius, Lithuania June 2011 Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation