: the highest body for public financial oversight in Saudi Arabia
The General Auditing Office: the highest body for public financial oversight in Saudi Arabia
The General Auditing Office in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is one of the most important government agencies that plays a pivotal role in financial and administrative oversight. Through its tasks, the Office seeks to enhance transparency and accountability in various government agencies and ensure the optimal use of the state’s financial resources.
With the major transformations that the Kingdom is witnessing towards digitization and digital transformation within the framework of Vision 2030, the Bureau has a major role in supporting and developing oversight operations using the latest technologies, which enhances the efficiency and effectiveness of its oversight operations, and achieves the highest levels of accuracy and integrity.
In this article, we will review in detail the General Auditing Office,
MA is the General Auditing Office
The General Auditing Office in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the supreme body for public financial oversight and accounting (Supreme Audit Institution), which is an independent government body directly linked to the king. The office carries out subsequent oversight tasks over all state revenues and expenditures, as well as monitoring all movable and fixed state funds, monitoring the proper use, exploitation and preservation of these funds, and the extent of government agencies’ compliance with financial and administrative systems.
The auditing role of the General Auditing Bureau also includes monitoring the performance of these agencies to ensure achieving the highest levels of efficiency and effectiveness. The Bureau exercises its oversight duties according to a specific methodology through specialized auditors who have knowledge, skills and professional experience in the fields of financial control, compliance and performance. The Bureau’s oversight includes all ministries, institutions and government bodies. In addition to private institutions and companies to which the state contributes to their capital or guarantees a minimum level of profits, this comes to ensure transparency and integrity in financial and administrative transactions within the Kingdom.
Tasks and supervision of professional associations
In addition to the basic supervisory tasks, the General Auditing Bureau, pursuant to Royal Order No. (17103) dated 3/26/1442 AH, is responsible for supervising the Saudi Society of Internal Auditors, and the President of the General Auditing Bureau chairs the association’s board of directors, which enhances the Bureau’s role in improving auditing and oversight standards. Interior in the Kingdom.
This role reflects the Kingdom’s commitment to developing professional capabilities and enhancing competencies in the field of accounting and auditing, as this supervision contributes to providing technical and technical support to internal auditors and developing their skills and knowledge in line with international best practices, and enhances their role in supporting good governance within the organizations in which they work, and reflects This comprehensive approach is the Bureau’s commitment to achieving the highest levels of financial control and accounting, which contributes to improving financial and administrative performance in the Kingdom and enhances the confidence of citizens and investors in the state’s financial and administrative system.
International and regional positions of the Bureau
At the international level, the General Court of Auditors holds important leadership positions in the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI), where he holds the position of Second Vice President of the organization starting Muharram 1441 AH, corresponding to September 2019 AD, for a renewable nine-year period, in addition to the position of Chairman of the Organization’s Policy, Financial and Administrative Affairs Committee (PFAC), and the position of Chairman of the Steering Committee for INTOSAI’s Cooperation with the Donor Community (IDSC). ) In partnership with the World Bank.
This international presence of the Bureau reflects its prominent role in promoting international cooperation and exchanging experiences and knowledge in the field of financial oversight and accounting. The Bureau is also a member of the Board of Directors of the INTOSAI Development Initiative (IDI) effective from Jumada al-Akhirah 1444 AH, January 2023 AD, for a renewable period of three years, which enhances its role in supporting development initiatives and enhancing supervisory capabilities in member states. This international commitment of the Bureau reflects its effective role in improving financial control standards worldwide and enhancing cooperation. Among the supreme financial audit institutions to achieve the sustainable development goals.
The regional and Arab presence of the Bureau
At the regional level, the General Court of Auditors is a member of the Executive Council of the Asian Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (ASOSAI) as of Safar 1443 AH, September 2021 AD, for a renewable period of three years, which enhances its role in enhancing regional cooperation and exchanging experiences between oversight bodies. In Asia, and on the Arab level, the Bureau holds the position of President of the Arab Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (ARABOSAI) as of Rabi’ al-Awwal 1444 AH, October 2022 AD, for a period of three years.
He will then assume the position of First Vice President of ARABOSAI, starting from Rabi’ al-Akhir 1447 AH, October 2025 AD, for a period of three years, which enhances his leadership role in strengthening Arab cooperation and developing oversight capabilities in Arab countries. In addition, the General Auditing Bureau heads the Arab Federation of Associations. Internal auditors since Jumada al-Akhirah 1444 AH, January 2023 AD, which enhances its role in supporting and developing the internal audit profession in the Arab world. This regional and Arab presence of the Bureau reflects its commitment to strengthening regional and Arab cooperation and developing financial control and accounting standards in order to achieve comprehensive development goals.
The role of the General Auditing Office in digitization
The General Auditing Office in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is considered one of the leading institutions in applying digital transformation and relying on modern technologies to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of its oversight operations. The General Auditing Office seeks to benefit from digital technologies in developing financial and administrative oversight methodologies, and improving review and auditing processes. This trend comes In line with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, which aims to achieve comprehensive digital transformation in all government sectors, and adopt the latest technologies to enhance transparency and accountability.
The General Auditing Bureau has realized the importance of adopting modern technologies in improving control processes, as it has developed many digital systems and applications that contribute to facilitating auditing and auditing processes. Among these systems is the electronic document management system, which allows auditors to have immediate access to the required documents and files, which speeds up the process. Auditing saves time and effort, and an automated audit system has been developed that relies on artificial intelligence techniques to analyze financial data and detect abnormal or suspicious patterns, which enhances the Bureau’s ability to detect corruption and financial manipulation more accurately and effectively.
The digital transformation led by the General Auditing Bureau contributes to enhancing transparency and accountability in government institutions, as electronic platforms have been developed that allow citizens to view the results of audits and financial reports directly, which enhances citizens’ confidence in the role of the Bureau and in state institutions in general, and this comes within the framework of... The General Auditing Office seeks to achieve the highest levels of transparency and enhance the culture of accountability in society. The Office also works to provide training and qualification for auditors on the use of modern technologies and digital analysis tools, which contributes to raising their efficiency and increasing their accuracy in performing their oversight tasks.
The role of the Doc Suite systemHR in facilitating the use of the General Accounting Office
It is a Doc Suite systemHR is one of the advanced digital solutions that greatly contribute to facilitating the monitoring and auditing processes carried out by the General Auditing Office. The system allows companies and institutions the ability to manage their human resources efficiently and effectively, through a set of tools and functions that help organize and record all data related to employees, which It facilitates the Bureau’s access to this data quickly and accurately, and enhances its ability to carry out its oversight tasks.
Improving human resources management
The Dock Suite system contributesHR helps improve human resources management by providing a central database containing all information related to employees, such as attendance and departure records, salaries, bonuses, and periodic evaluations. This data is available to the General Auditing Office when needed to review or audit it, which facilitates the oversight process and reduces Of the time and effort spent collecting and analyzing information, the system also helps track compliance with regulations and internal policies, ensuring that procedures are compatible with the financial and administrative systems in place.
Promote transparency and accountability
By using the DocSuite systemHR, companies and institutions can enhance the level of transparency and accountability in their financial and administrative dealings, as the system provides detailed and periodic reports on all activities related to human resources, which enables the General Auditing Office to review these reports periodically and ensure their compliance with standards and regulations, and this contributes to detecting any Violations or manipulations may occur, and it enhances the Bureau’s confidence in the data provided by companies, which contributes to improving relations between the General Auditing Bureau and various institutions.
Facilitating audit and oversight
Provides dock suite systemHR is a set of tools that facilitate the audit and control process carried out by the General Auditing Office, as the system can issue customized reports that include all the data required for the audit process, such as attendance and departure reports, salary and bonus reports, and evaluation and performance reports. These reports are ready for immediate review by The General Auditing Bureau, which reduces the time spent collecting and analyzing data, and enhances the accuracy and effectiveness of the audit process. The system also helps facilitate the communication process between companies and the General Auditing Bureau by providing direct communication channels for exchanging information and inquiries.
The Doc Suite system contributesHR in supporting the digital transformation efforts led by the General Auditing Bureau by providing an integrated digital platform for human resources management, as the system allows companies the ability to transform from traditional paper systems to modern digital systems, which contributes to improving the efficiency of operations and reducing human errors, and enhances the Bureau’s ability. The General Auditing Authority implements its oversight tasks more effectively and accurately. The system also supports the strategic directions of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, which seeks to achieve digital transformation in all government and private sectors, which enhances the Kingdom’s position as a leading digital center in the world.