As the official administrative apparatus of the state expands in trend with the increase in the number of ministries, government departments and public sector companies, the need for enhancing the supervisory and regulatory auditing capabilities of the government machinery grows as well.
This will make government employees aware that an authority is monitoring their work and the level of their adherence to the rules and regulations of the organisations they work in.
These measures undoubtedly lead to the detection of any manipulation, abuse and corruption that employees may potentially indulge in.
The absence of internal audit has the potential to contribute to bribery, corruption, nepotism and other infractions, which may impact the rights of some employees while enriching others.
Thus, organisations cannot retain efficient human and financial resources and suffer losses for the sake of some employees, among other stakeholders.
Internal audit does not only maintain the laws and financial and administrative matters of institutions, but also improves the performance of their employees. In addition, internal audit assures officials, managers and board of directors of a clear application of the policies adopted as part of the responsibilities and competencies of employees and workers, and how to manage the business as stated in the organisational structure of those institutions.
This helps them improve the management of resources, while maintaining and developing these assets in accordance with the relevant regulations and policies.
In official entities, institutions follow up the internal audit process through their management, alongside the State Audit Institution, including the financial disclosure of employees and government officials. This mechanism allows identification of theirs’ and their spouses and dependents’ funds, properties or assets transferred within or outside the Sultanate, among other irregularities concerning their banking, financial and other practices.
Financial disclosure is one of the tools used by SAI to protect public funds and combat conflicts of interest. This tool is also used to monitor any windfalls gained by officials during their tenure in public office.
Meanwhile, these disclosures are handled in a confidential and professional manner, and access to such reports is prohibited to non-authorised persons, except in cases where State bodies need to be consulted.
Not only does internal audit look for errors and wrongful practices by employees and those dealing with public institutions, but also adds value to the business and activities of these institutions internally and externally, which helps them achieve more goals without problems and challenges.
It has become necessary to give importance to internal audit imperatives as they represent an independent and objective function of institutions. Internal auditing ensures that organisations adopt systematic and effective governance methods.
It should be noted that during the past years, SAI has conducted several awareness seminars and workshops on such issues along with financial disclosure.
Various media outlets are taking the lead in educating the public on the importance of abiding by the rules of government institutions. This creates some type of deterrent against potential abuse and corruption, while offenders are liable to penalties.
Such awareness also aims at disseminating knowledge on the importance of protection of public funds and adopting the best practices in resource management to enhance the performance of these institutions as well as strengthening integrity and anti-corruption laws.
Today, modern technologies and information resources are readily available to enhance their performance through the adoption of the latest internal audit and accounting practices using cutting-edge programmes and systems.
This allows the auditor to carry out their tasks in the field of auditing with utmost professionalism and accuracy.
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