ALRAQABA . ISSUE 15
35
Interview
Feature
3. What types of control does your SAI
provide? What kind of reports does
your SAI deliver, and to whom?
The Bureau is mandated to exercise its oversight
role over the funds and functions of the different
entities subject to its control. Our SAI exercises
three types of control; namely, pre-audit,
concurrent audit, and post-audit. These three
types are defined based on their timing. In the
event of a mandate from the Emir or a request by
the Council of Ministers, the Bureau may audit and
review any entity›s functions that are not initially
subject to its control.
Under this scope, the Bureau performs all types of
audits (including financial audits) on companies,
corporations, ministries, etc. Mandates of the
Bureau in this respect include performance
audit, compliance audit, IT audit, internal audit,
contract and tender audit, and project audit.
Besides, our SAI has taken the lead in promoting
and disseminating the culture and studies of risk
management, and particularly the institutional and
operational risk of the auditees. It is also keen
to provide different auditees with state-of-the-art
methods, tools, and techniques for data collection
and analysis to assist such parties in monitoring
and assessing risks.
4. What is the mechanism adopted by
your SAI in following up its remarks
and recommendations? And what
actions are taken by your SAI in case of
a detected financial violation?
The Bureau has well-set mechanisms and
systematic procedures that are compatible with
the latest methods and techniques used for
determining and detecting financial breaches.
The procedures set by the Bureau are based
on defining the violations against the laws and
regulations as well as the violations related to the
failure to comply with the approved international
accounting standards. Those procedures also
involve determining the deficiencies in institutional
performance, given that such defects would
impede the protection of public funds. Further,
the Bureau is keen to assess the internal audit
systems and gauge the efficiency of the internal
audit departments within the different auditees.
The relevant audit observations of the Bureau
are presented to the entity being audited, and
the latter shall then provide its response to those
observations. Based on the auditee›s response,
the Bureau would decide whether the audit
observation should be canceled or finalized
and resubmitted to the auditee along with the
relevant recommendations (if any). However,
the observations that involve a serious financial
irregularity or a suspicious activity of corruption or
fraud shall be referred to the competent juridical
authorities in order to take the necessary action,
taking into consideration the applicable laws
and legislations
.
5. What are the procedures and
means used by your SAI to develop
its performance and enhance its
functionality?
The Bureau adopts a methodology that is
based on continuous improvement and setting
out areas of development. This methodology
is clearly reflected in the Strategic Plan of the
State Audit Bureau of Qatar, which was issued in
2019 with a focus on three core objectives, i.e.,
developing and elevating audit work, institutional
excellence, and cooperation and communication.
The outcome of this strategic plan is assessed
against a total of (44) indicators to gauge the audit
performance, products, and operational efficiency
of the SAI. The Bureau is also keen to define areas
