Audit Bureau to support audit units within government agencies
By Majd Othman
KUWAIT: Undersecretary of State Audit Bureau Youssef Al-Mazrouei said during a forum held on Monday at the headquarters of the bureau that internal audit, which is affiliated to the administration of the State Audit Bureau, aims to provide answers to entities that monitor the bureau. “The internal audit committee was formed in Kuwait Audit Bureau more than 20 years ago under the supervision of a previous leader and chaired by a manager with supervisors, and every year its members are audited and changed,” he said.
Mazrouei pointed out there is a potential project in cooperation with the General Secretariat of the Supreme Council for Planning and Development to qualify a group of employees of government agencies in the field of internal auditing, indicating internal audit is an independent and objective consulting activity designed to add value to an entity and improve its operations. “It also helps the entity to achieve its objectives by finding a structured and rigorous approach to assessing and improving the efficiency of management operations,” he added.
Meanwhile, he pointed out that the principles of internal auditing are based on integrity, objectivity and efficiency, and it is important to have cooperation and coordination between them to achieve the added value represented in improving the quality of performance. Director of the Internal Audit Department at State Audit Bureau Dr Adnan Al-Hassan indicated the importance of internal audit lies in the fact that it is the first line of defense, and a consultant that provides high-quality services achieves added value.
He clarified the State Audit Bureau is adopting a project to support internal audit units in government agencies. Hassan reviewed the experience of the Audit Bureau in managing internal audit and defining terms of reference and independence, indicating auditors are working to familiarize themselves with the experiences of international institutions, development of strategy, development of the charter and the ethics of the profession. In addressing future outlook, Hassan explained that auditing is based on risk and the use of technology in auditing, benefiting from artificial intelligence, business automation and value-added topics such as information security.
Finally, the forum recommended the need to achieve the added value of internal audit through several factors, the most important of which is independence and objectivity, and keenness to achieve the added value of internal audit work, which may be in-kind through improving procedures and enhancing the efficiency of control systems, or monetary and tangible, which is reflected in the form of refunds or financial savings.
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