Expensive consulting contracts and cash payments where services cannot be determined: the RBB is criticized by the auditors
Source: dpa/Fabian Sommer
A test report now reveals it: For years, Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg spent more money than it had. It was even so dramatic that the insolvency could only just be averted. In the future, according to the auditors, certain salaries should be capped.
Dhe Berlin and Brandenburg courts of auditors have identified numerous deficiencies in the Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (RBB). At the end of their examination procedure, their presidents said that the broadcaster had spent more money over the years, than was availableit says in one Report of the portal RBB24. “The broadcaster pushed a liquidity deficit like a bow wave in front of it,” said the President of the Berlin Court of Auditors, Karin Klingen.
The insolvency could only just be averted by a savings program that was painful for all sides. The station simply “lived beyond its means for a long time,” she says from the “Spiegel” and the “Berliner Zeitungquoted.
In the period under review since 2017, there have been deficiencies in the documentation, organization and archiving of documents and contracts and the recording of payments. According to the examiners, it was sometimes difficult to find documents.
Expensive consultant contracts in the station
In addition, the broadcaster concluded consultancy contracts without checking whether the sums agreed therein were usual or appropriate. Payments were made by employees in some cases without the four-eyes principle. In some cases it could not be determined whether a service had been provided for the payments.
According to the information provided, the two audit offices propose capping the top salaries in the RBB at 180,000 euros for directors and around 180,000 euros for directors. The examiners justified this with the lower risk of liability compared to the private sector or other top positions.
In addition, the Brandenburg Court of Auditors recommends a fundamental reform of the supervisory bodies. They should be better qualified and given more responsibility. Currently there is a debate to increase the license fee.
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