President of the Supreme Audit Office recognises cartel detection, commitment to helping Ukrainians and top-level diplomacy
PRESS RELEASE ON THE SAO PRESIDENT’S AWARD CEREMONY – 18 December 2025
On Thursday, 18 December 2025, the President of the Supreme Audit Office (SAO) Miloslav Kala presented the SAO President’s Award to three awardees. He recognised the outstanding commitment of an SAO lawyer in assisting Ukrainian refugees fleeing Russian aggression, the meticulous audit work of an SAO auditor that led to the detection of a cartel in public procurement, and the top-level international diplomacy of the Secretary General of INTOSAI and the President of the Austrian Court of Audit. In his speech, Mr Kala also reflected on the challenges awaiting the new Czech government and reminded that SAO documents can serve as high-quality, free consultations for the ministers.
Three awardees received the SAO President’s Award on Thursday. “Among other things, I appreciated their ability to change established patterns and adapt to new, unexpected challenges,” said Miloslav Kala. SAO lawyer Daniela Němečková received the award for her assistance to Ukrainian refugees fleeing Russian aggression in Ukraine, who were accommodated at the SAO training facility in Přestavlky from March to September 2022. “From the very first moment, she became involved in supporting refugees. She handled an unprecedented situation with a high degree of empathy, professionalism and exceptional personal commitment,” the SAO President summarised.
Another award recipient was SAO auditor Jaroslav Boháč. He received the award for precise and purposeful work that led to the uncovering of a cartel in public procurement relating to railway signalling equipment. Based in part on his findings, the Office for the Protection of Competition imposed fines totalling CZK 157 million on the companies involved. “Jaroslav Boháč demonstrated that attention to detail and intuition are as much a part of an auditor’s work as consistency and a systematic approach. His work showed that the word ‘impact’ is not just a term from training materials, but has a concrete financial expression – in this case, CZK 157 million,” stated the SAO President.
The award was also presented to a foreign awardee – the Secretary General of the International Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) and President of the Austrian Court of Audit Margit Kraker. “Through her work, she demonstrates that empathy and understanding are just as important components of leadership as decisiveness and inner strength. Under her leadership, the INTOSAI Secretariat is a respected, open and reliable partner for every member of the international audit community,” said Miloslav Kala.
In his speech, the SAO President also touched on the challenges awaiting the new Czech government. He recalled that many of the issues that will need to be addressed are described in the SAO’s audit reports, annual reports and opinions. “They can therefore serve as high-quality and free consultations for ministers. In our view, merely continuing projects, concepts or strategies introduced by previous governments is no longer sufficient. It is necessary to break out of established routines and ruthlessly cut everything that does not deliver adequate value to people. I wish the new ministers that they would find within themselves the same determination and perseverance as today’s awardees,” Miloslav Kala declared.
The design of the SAO President's Award came out of a competition among students of the Institute of Design at the Faculty of Architecture of the Czech Technical University. The winning design by designer Marie Cikhartová works with the detail of a magnifying glass as a symbol of exact investigation of the state of affairs. These appear in detail, the hidden is revealed and the seemingly invisible emerges into living reality.
Communication Department
Supreme Audit Office