28
ALRAQABA . ISSUE 15
Efforts of the General Court of Audit of the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Responding to
the Coronavirus Pandemic
In light of the contingent crisis of the COVID19-
outbreak that has overtaken the entire globe, the
General Court of Audit (GCA) of the Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia has devoted particular attention
to crisis management in order to tackle such
emergencies, ensure continuity of its functions,
accelerate the progress of the SAI, and thereby
guarantee the protection of public funds. To that
end, the SAI of Saudi Arabia has set out the plans
and precautions necessary to respond to the
COVID19- pandemic.
• In an attempt to mitigate the outbreak
of Coronavirus, a number of preventive
measures were undertaken by the GCA. The
SAI has developed its alternative plan in order
to ensure the continuity of its functions. An
internal electronic system was also launched
to serve the citizens and enable such parties
to capitalize on the services provided by the
SAI.
• GCA has activated its electronic audit system
(Shamel), which is a newly established system
that is linked to different auditees and includes
several platforms and electronic systems
offering training courses for employees of the
auditees’ financial and pre-audit departments.
Those offered courses are organized through
the training center of GCA “Saudi Center for
Financial and Performance Auditing (SCFPA)”.
• Under the framework of representing
Saudi Arabia in international and regional
organizations and enhancing cooperation with
the counterpart SAIs, the GCA demonstrated
a remarkable role in the support programs
provided to its counterparts during the
COVID19- pandemic, and particularly
in funding developing countries that are
highly affected by this pandemic. Being the
Chair of the INTOSAI Policy, Finance and
Administrative Committee (PFAC), GCA
is making every possible effort to support
members of the INTOSAI community in order
to ensure proper implementation of their
planned tasks and the continuation of their
functions during the pandemic.
Efforts of the State Audit Bureau of Qatar
In responding to the outbreak of the COVID19-
pandemic, the State Audit Bureau of Qatar has
taken a number of preventive measures to protect
its staff, in addition to taking certain administrative
and organizational measures to ensure business
continuity within the SAI. Further, work plans
and programs of the Qatari SAI were adjusted
and adapted to correspond to the current
circumstances facing the country. Such efforts
were exerted in line with the measures and actions
adopted at the State level while ensuring the SAI’s
full commitment to its responsibilities in exercising
its mandated audit work. The SAI of Qatar is
also keen to facilitate the work of the different
government agencies to face this pandemic
without compromising appropriate financial rules
and procedures that guarantee the protection of
public funds. Those undertaken procedures are
summarized as follows:
Article
Feature
