Latvia a liberal economy and its re-orientation toward Western Europe, Latvia is one of the fastest growing economies in the European Union. In 2014, Riga was the European Capital of Culture, the euro was introduced as the currency of the country and a Latvian was named vice-president of the European Commission. In 2015 Latvia held the presidency of Council of the European Union. Big European events have been celebrated in Riga such as the Eurovision Song Contest 2003 and the European Film Awards 2014. On 1 July 2016, Latvia became a member of the OECD. Latvia lies in Northern Europe, on
State Audit Office of the Republic of Latvia State Audit Office of the Republic of Latvia The State Audit Office of the Republic of Latvia (SAO: ) is a public auditing body overseeing the finances of national and local government in Latvia. It was first created in 1918, and re-established in 1992 when Latvia again became independent. According to the Constitution and the Law of the State Audit Office of the Republic of Latvia, is an independent collegial institutional body in the Republic of Latvia and is subject only to the Law. Its task is to monitor the state and local government funds for legitimate, effective and efficient