Ministry’s budget issues cost universities DKK 100 Million

The Danish Education and Research Ministry is under severe criticism from the National Audit Office for delays and budget mismanagement regarding a university IT system, causing an extra DKK 100 million expense. The project, initially estimated at DKK 700 million, has escalated to DKK 1.2 billion with a four-and-a-half-year delay. Multiple budget rules were broken, such as spending beyond approved limits without prior parliamentary committee approval. The ministry presented the act piece only 11 days before the deadline, failing to report the additional expense this delay would incur. Despite the handover of IT systems to universities in late 2021, the work is still incomplete. The National Audit Office hopes that this example will lead to better management in other ministries facing large IT projects.