The AFROSAI 2017/18 Coordinated Audit on Corruption as a driver of Illicit Financial Flows

Report ID: 234

In 2017, members of the AFROSAI from South Africa, Senegal, Togo, Tanzania, Kenya, Niger, Uganda, Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire and Liberia undertook a coordinated audit, focusing on corruption as a driver of Illicit Financial Flows, especially on Asset Declaration and Public Procurement Systems which was completed in April 2018. 

On the topic of Asset Declaration Systems, the audit revealed that:

• Systems have been put in place in all but one country, but they differ substantially.
• There is a need to revisit the regulatory frameworks.
• The sanction regime needs to be strengthened and fully applied.
• In most countries, the verification of declarations needs to be urgently improved.
• Public accessibility of declarations needs to be reconsidered.

On the topic of Asset Declaration Systems, the audit revealed that:

• Systems have been put in place in all countries with regulatory frameworks that provide for transparency.
• Public procurement systems need to deliver on competitiveness and efficiency.
• Conflicts of interest in public procurement need to be better managed.
• Inclusion of procurement officials in asset declaration regimes is essential.
• Corruption reporting mechanisms need to be made fully operational.
• Oversight over procurement, including follow up and sanctions, must be strengthened.
• Capacity for implementation of procurement laws and regulations is weak.

The overall conclusion of the AFROSAI 2017/18 Coordinated Audit on Corruption as a driver of Illicit Financial Flows:

• The Governments audited have made substantial progress in putting the asset declaration and procurement systems required by AUCPCC and UNCAC in place. It is now imperative to improve their operations.
• As an overarching finding, it is imperative to strengthen the controls of these systems, whether it is the verification of asset declarations, the procurement audits by oversight bodies or the control of declarations of conflict of interest in procurement. These controls combined with adequate sanction regimes must be put in place to prevent impunity.
• Supreme Audit Institutions are essential actors in providing recommendations for improving these and other public finance systems. Their role in national governance systems should therefore be strengthened.

Public Procurement in Western Balkans Synthesis Report on the Parallel Performance Audit

Report ID: 392

The Joint Working Group on Audit Activities (JWGAA) was established in 2002 with a mandate to contribute to maintaining the working links and cooperation between the SAIs in the Contact Committee and the Presidents’ Network (candidate and potential candidate countries). The main goal of the group’s activities is to facilitate cooperation between the current and future member SAIs, to provide support and to help exchange experience in the process of institutional development, transition and negotiation on EU accession Chapter 32 (the ability to assume the obligations of membership in the area of financial control).

The Parallel Performance Audit (PPA) project under the umbrella of the JWGAA was initiated in 2014 (as PPA 1), when the member SAIs received training and coaching on performance audit practice. Based on experiences from this pilot project, a PPA 2 project was launched in 2016, to conduct a PPA of Public Procurement, an area generally susceptible to fraud and corruption, and as such, it is often the focus of attention from the general public.

From April 2016 to September 2017, the SAIs of Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo*, Montenegro and Serbia, supported by the ECA and the Swedish National Audit Office (SNAO), which co-chairs the JWGAA, conducted a parallel audit aimed to identify system problems related to public procurement, and suggesting possible ways in which these problems can be tackled by their respective governments.

The audit environment of the six SAIs is characterized by a common historical heritage and a similar bureaucratic culture, a transition process, and ongoing reforms on the way to EU integration. The report presents a synthesis of general findings and conclusions from the parallel audit as well as how this cooperation process was developed.

Source: http://www.dri.co.me/1/doc/Synthesis%20Report%20on%20the%20parallel%20performance%20audit%20of%20public%20procurament%20in%20Western%20Balkans.pdf