Central Auditing Commission of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany

An Auditing Commission was first set up at the founding party conference in April 1946. ==Work==

The ZRK was mainly tasked with controlling the SED's finances, in particular the collection and accounting of membership fees. Additionally, it performed financial audits in the party apparatus and party enterprises such as the Dietz publishing house. It also "oversaw" the work of other auditing commissions in mass organizations such as the FDGB's ZRK. However, de facto, the ZRK was not able to independently audit the central party apparatus, as the later did not have to divulge information. ==Structure==

Subordinate bodies The ZRK had subordinate bodies: the Bezirk (or, until the administrative reform in 1952, the state-level auditing commissions) and the district-level auditing commissions of the SED. the ZRK elected by the XI. Party Congress in April 1986 was composed of forty full members and eight candidate members. Being a member of the ZRK was usually incompatible with being a Central Committee member, chairman Kurt Seibt being a notable exception. Members did not need to have any formal qualifications in auditing. Heinz Kuhrig (1971–1976), Werner Eberlein (1971–1981), Bruno Mahlow junior (1981–1989), and Gisela Glende (1986–1989), who was pushed away to the ZRK after her forced retirement as head of the Office of the Politburo. The chairman was assisted by a deputy chairman, notably Sepp Hahn under Fritz Gäbler, and Karl-Heinz Lorber under Kurt Seibt. == References ==