Peer review Federal Board of Supreme Audit of Iraq
This review is part of a larger collaboration scheme between the Federal Board of Supreme Audit of Iraq and the Netherlands Court of Audit that will continue into 2014.
The Federal Board of Supreme Audit of Iraq (FBSA) is working hard on developing its performance auditing. Performance audits establish whether government agencies achieve their aims. Another aspect of attention is whether the same results could have been achieved against lower costs. The FBSA exists since 1927. The FBSA asked the Netherlands Court of Audit (NCA) to review its performance audits and judge its audits against international standards for this type of auditing. This review is part of a larger collaboration scheme between these two supreme audit institutions that will continue into 2014. The collaboration aims at improving the performance auditing capabilities of the FBSA of Iraq.
The President of the NCA officially presented the peer review report on 29 October 2013 to the Iraqi Parliament in Baghdad in the presence of the President of the FBSA. Together they presented the findings at a press conference. The report is published at the website of the FBSA. At the head office of the FBSA in Baghdad an informative meeting took place on the findings for the management of FBSA.
The findings of the peer review are that the FBSA almost fully complies with the international standards. Improvements already found their way into the new manual on performance auditing. The proof will from now on be in the eating. Both supreme audit institutions agree that the Iraqi FBSA can further expand its activities. In the Iraqi Parliament the essential contribution of the supreme audit institutions in preventing corruption was highlighted, where other agencies are responsible for investigating fraud and for sentencing.
The Iraqi FBSA and the NCA were both present at het World Congress of the International Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (Intosai) in Beijing in China the week before. Both joined a working group of on research into mining activities as extraction of gas, oil and other natural resources.