Objectives

The present section of the joint action process addresses the fields related to the control of the public property in the Member States. Such control is conducted by the auditing and accounting institutions in the Member States. This includes coordination of positions among the auditing and accounting institutions in the international organizations in which these institutions are full members, such as INTOSAI, ASOSAI and ARBOSAI.

Since the establishment of the GCC, the authorities in charge of financial control and auditing have held meetings at the level of the heads of these institutions as well as the specialist technical committees with a view to achieving the objectives outlined in the GCC Charter.


Achievements

Over the past years, many achievements have been attained in this field, such as for example:

I. Draft Rules of the Supreme Audit Institutions in the GCC States

The draft rules were prepared by a technical working team specialized in audit and legal aspects. The rules contained various sections and chapters that define the basic principles of auditing, objectives, kinds and scope thereof. The draft rules also outline the functions of the audit institutions and the agencies subject to audit, definition of the general auditing rules in respect to independence, qualification and professionalism, as well as the rules of the field work, planning of the audit operations, proofs and evidences. The Draft Rules concludes with the reports in respect to the kinds of such reports, the methods of preparation, follow up, confidentiality and the opinion contained in the report.


II. Joint Training

The Common strategic plan for training the staff of the audit institutions was adopted in year 2000. The plan includes the methodology and fields of joint training through the annual training courses organized by such institutions. The number of participants in these courses has exceeded 400 trainees over the past years. The plan focuses on the specialist programs in the newest fields such as environmental control, corruption control, money laundering, E-commerce, computerization, privatization, performance control and the like. A permanent committee for training and development was formed. The committee approves, in the beginning of each year, the annual training plan incorporating three courses in the fields set out in the common strategy.


III. Train –the- Trainers Program organized in cooperation with INTOSAI

The program was organized by the audit institutions in the GCC Member States in coordination with the Secretariat-General and INTOSAI during the years 2004-2005. Twenty trainers were trained in this program.


IV. Strategy for Comprehensive Training of Staff engaged in Audit Institutions to obtain Professional Fellowship Certificates in Audit

At their 6th meeting (25-26 November 2007), Their Excellencies, Presidents of Audit Institutions approved the of the strategy for Comprehensive Training of Staff engaged in Audit Institutions to obtain Professional Fellowship Certificates in Audit with a view to improving their performance which will positively reflect on the role of the audit institutions in fulfilling their functions and objectives.


V. The GCC Competition for the Research and Studies in the Field of Auditing

The Heads of the GCC Audit Institutions (4th Meeting, Kuwait 2004) approved a competition for the studies and research in the field of auditing, and the rules of the competition that include the conditions and awards. The first competition was announced in 2006 to be awarded in the following fields:

Topic (1): Financial control on money laundering.
Topic (2): The challenges encountering the GCC Audit Institutions in the field of audit based on the electronic systems.
Topic (3): The role of the Audit Institutions in the control of privatization and after privatization.

Their Excellencies, Heads of the GCC Audit Institutions (6th Meeting, 25-26 November 2007) declared the results of the competition and winners of the Award were honored. The GCC Secretariat prints successful researches and circulates them to Audi Institutions for benefit.


VI. Technical Studies

a) A study on money laundering from the audit perspective
b) A study on environmental control from the audit perspective

The above studies were prepared by the Audit Bureau in the State of Kuwait and the General Auditing Bureau in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia respectively. These two studies contain several recommendations that enhance the role of audit institutions in controlling the adverse impacts of money laundering and the environmental implications thereof. Rules of controlling these two fields will be derived from these two studies, in addition to the Draft Rules of the Supreme Audit Institutions referred to in item "IV" above.