Overview By order of the Federal Constitution the AOB is authorised to act on its own and initiate an investigative proceeding ex-officio if it has reason to suspect any case of maladministration. The members of the AOB made use of this right as in previous years and initiated 61 ex-officio investigative proceedings (2012: 58). Resolved complaints relative to regional and municipal government administration 2013 2012 No maladministration found 4,338 4,306 Maladministration on the part of the authorities 1,444 1,519 Complaints outside the AOB mandate 1,284 1,311 Investigative proceeding currently inadmissible (administrative proceeding still ongoing) 1,215 1,362 Complaint retracted 696 643 Complaints not suitable for handling (per the relevant regulations) 178 167 Cases which the Board jointly determined as cases of maladministration and issued a recommendation 6 7 Challenges to regulations 0 0 9,161 9,315 TOTAL 61 ex-officio investigative proceedings 2.3.3 Budget and Staff In 2013, due to budgetary reforms, the AOB‘s budget structure dramatically changed, as did the budgetary structure of the entire federal administration. The AOB‘s federal budget statement is now split into a cash flow statement and an operating statement. The cash flow statement presents incoming and outgoing payments. The operating statement shows appropriately accrued income and expenses. Increased budget due to new competences In 2013, the AOB had access to a total budget based on the cash flow statement of EUR 10,209,000 i.e. EUR 10,115,000 based on the operating statement. The difference between the cash flow statement and the operating statement (EUR 94,000) is largely due to depreciation of property, plant and equipment and expenses arising out of allocations to reserves (severance payments, length-ofservice bonuses), which only affect the result. As a consequence, only the cash flow statement is discussed below, as only this statement presents the actual cash flows. The cash flow statement includes personnel costs of EUR 5,592,000 and general administrative costs of EUR 3,628,000. General administrative costs include e.g. payments made to the commissions and to the Human Rights Advisory Council, 17