2025 Annual Report 2026 Annual Plan

Introduction

We are pleased to present the 2025 Annual Report and the 2026 Annual Plan of the Audit Committee of the Municipality of Nuenen and Surrounding Areas. This is the second report since the current members of the Audit Committee were appointed (for a six-year term) in January 2024.

Mission

The Court wants to contribute to the quality of public administration in the municipality of Nuenen c.a..

Vision

The Court of Audit aims to improve the quality of policy formation, decision-making, policy implementation and accountability by or on behalf of the local public administration wherever possible. The Court does this by conducting independent and high-quality research to support the framework-setting and controlling role of the council of the municipality of Nuenen. The research focuses on the effectiveness, efficiency and lawfulness of the policy of the municipality of Nuenen.

• Lawfulness: the degree to which the actions of the municipal organization and organizations with which the municipality is financially and/or administratively connected are in accordance with the municipal budget and applicable laws, ordinances and regulations;
• Efficiency: the degree to which the municipal organization succeeds in achieving the desired result with the least possible use of available resources;
• Effectiveness: the degree to which the municipal organization succeeds in achieving the stated goals or desired social effects with the performance it provides.

Composition court of auditors municipality of Nuenen c.a.

The Court of Auditors Municipality of Nuenen c.a. consists of two external members:

• Drs. ing. A.M.A. (Nol) van Drunen MSc (chairman);
• Drs. A.H.M. (Ton) van Bree RA (deputy chairman).

Council member Mr. C. Meijvis served as an intermediary between the City Council and the Court of Auditors throughout 2025. Administrative support was provided Municipal Clerk’s Office Ms. J. Peterse from the Municipal Clerk’s Office .
 

Method of consultation

The working method of the Court of Auditors is anchored in the Municipal Law and the Regulation for the Audit Chamber of the Municipality of Nuenen c.a. (2024). The meetings of the Court of Auditors are not public. Summaries of the meetings are made in the form of a report and an action list.

Association of Courts of Audit

The Court is a member of the Dutch Interest Association of Audit Institutes, the VR.

Introduction

In 2025, the Court of Audit conducted two studies. The first study was part of a nationwide survey on underspending organized by the Association of Courts of Audit. This is a so-called “voluntary participation” study. A total of about 150 municipalities are participating in this (benchmark) study.

The second study on the Helmond–Eindhoven fast-cycle path stemmed from an assessment conducted by the Court of Audit regarding the council’s need for such a study. To this end, the Court of Audit spoke with (almost) all council factions in February 2025.

Research

First Study of 2025 - Under-spending
Many municipalities in the Netherlands are familiar with the phenomenon of under-spending. Under-spending can, for example, indicate that budgets are unrealistic, that activities have not been carried out, or that additional funds become available so late in the year that it is no longer feasible to spend them.

The main question of this study is: Does the budgeting process in the municipality participating in this study provide elected officials with a clear understanding of revenues and expenditures, and can this process be improved?

The administrative costs for this study are limited (EUR 500) because this nationwide study is subsidized by the VR/Ministry of the Interior. The members of the Court of Audit oversee the study themselves, collect a comprehensive set of financial data, conduct interviews, and prepare the final report based on the fact sheets provided centrally.

The audit has encountered some delays. The central processing of the requested information covering the period 2017–2024 proved to be so labor-intensive that the Court of Auditors will not be able to expect the results until March 2026 (instead of the originally planned date of October 2025). After that, the Court of Audit will still need to work on the fact sheets to compile a report specific to Nuenen.

The Court of Auditors aims to present the audit report to the council in the second quarter of 2026.

Second audit of 2025 – The Helmond–Eindhoven fast-cycle path
The Court of Audit completed this audit in the last week of 2025. For details, please refer to the relevant report.

Budget

The Court of Auditors has its own budget. The budget for 2025 was EUR 25,000.

Spending budget

Expenditures from this budget during 2025 amounted to:

Explanation

1. The average time spent by members of the Audit Committee was 8 hours per month on all activities outside of audit hours, such as meetings, determining which audits are appropriate, preparing the annual report and annual plan, etc. In total, the Audit Committee met 10 times in 2025 for consultations at the town hall in Nuenen.
2. The study titled “Managing Large Projects” was completed in December 2024. A final invoice was received from the external research firm involved in early 2025.
3. The compensation for participating in the national "Doe mee" survey on underspending conducted by the Association of Audit Offices was EUR 500.
4. The 2025 studies on underutilization and the high-speed bike lane were conducted entirely in-house. In accordance with the agreement and within budget, the costs were billed at EUR 75 per hour.

2026 Budget

The budget for 2026 remains unchanged at EUR 25,000. This budget is necessary to conduct the two studies per year requested by the council. With this budget, the costs remain below the national average in the Netherlands (EUR 1.30 per resident – information from the VR website).

The Court allocated this budget as follows:

1. Fixed remuneration and the hourly rate for own research have been taken into account the indexation that also applies to council members.
2. See the following section regarding these two studies. As soon as the scope of these studies becomes clear, the members of the Court of Audit will prepare a proposal that provides a more specific estimate of the hours required for the research. An hourly rate of €79 will be applied (€75 plus indexation). This proposal will be submitted to the clerk for information. The allocation of the budget across the two investigations may differ from the above estimate.

Method of selecting topics

The Court operates from independence, impartiality and objectivity. On the one hand, it wants its investigations not to become a factor in a current, political discussion; on the other hand, it wants to be open to important, social developments.

The Audit Office determines the selection of its audit topics and the manner in which audits are conducted. In doing so, it takes into account issues raised by the council or by the community of Nuenen. The Audit Office aims to conduct audits that meet the council’s needs and therefore communicates frequently with the council.

When selecting topics, the aim is to maximize their contribution to the Court's mission and objective, taking into account the Court's available research capacity and budget.

In accordance with Article 2 of the Court's Research Protocol, the following criteria shall be observed in the subject selection:

• Appropriateness: the topic falls within the Court's remit and powers.
• Proportionality: there is a substantial interest in financial, organizational, managerial or social terms.
• Subsidiarity: the research question cannot be answered in any other, more straightforward way.
• Added value: learning effects are expected from the study.
• Independence: the Court does not interfere in political discussions.

Research in 2026

Completion of the "Doe mee" Survey on Under-Spending
The "Doe mee" Survey on Under-Spending was launched in 2025 but will be completed in the first half of 2026.

First Audit in 2026: Healthcare Fraud
As in 2025, the Court of Audit intends to participate once again in the “Join Us” audit organized by the Association of Courts of Audit. In 2026, the audit will focus on healthcare fraud committed by healthcare organizations that provide both Wmo and youth care services. The file review will be conducted by the external consulting firm BMC and will primarily address the prevention of healthcare fraud, its detection, investigation, and tackling, as well as promoting cooperation among municipalities.

Main question

• How resilient are the municipality of Nuenen and its surrounding areas, as well as any partnerships, against healthcare fraud under the Social Support Act (Wmo) and the Youth Act?
• What measures and approaches is the municipality of Nuenen and surrounding areas taking to combat healthcare fraud, both preventively and through enforcement, and what are the reasonably expected effects of these measures?
  Sub-questions
• What is known about the reasonably foreseeable effects of measures to combat healthcare fraud
• What measures is the municipality of Nuenen and surrounding areas taking (individually or regionally)?
• To what extent do municipalities collaborate to combat healthcare fraud within the broader framework of the Social Support Act (Wmo) and the Youth Act?
• What recommendations arise from the insights regarding impacts, measures taken, and collaboration within the system?

As mentioned above, the document review is being conducted by BMC. The Nuenen Court of Audit is considering conducting additional interviews with the Alderman, several civil servants, and the municipal council. These interviews could provide further insight and must fit within BMC’s schedule for the investigation.

Planning

The turnaround time is quite long, but this is because it involves a joint study by many municipalities.

Second survey 2026
The second survey will be coordinated with the new council and will ideally be launched before the summer break.
 

On behalf of the Court of Audit of Nuenen and Surrounding Areas
A.M.A. (Nol) van Drunen
Chair