Manama, Jan. 15 (BNA): National Audit Office (NAO)'s Auditor General Shaikh Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa presented the 19th NAO Annual Report 2021/2022 to Speaker Ahmed bin Salman Al Musalam and Shura Council Chairman Ali bin Saleh Al Saleh.
Shaikh Ahmed affirmed that the support given to the NAO by His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, and the full independence granted to the NAO by law, enabled it to perform its duties efficiently.
He also praised the support by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, and his directives to the entities covered by the NAO’s audit mandate to follow up on the implementation of the recommendations and observations contained in the NAO’s reports.
The entities subject to the NAO’s audit include ministries, directorates, governorates, municipalities, public organizations which constitute the administrative set-up of the State and entities attached thereto, the Shura Council, the Representatives' Council, municipal councils, and companies in which the State holds more than 50% of their capital or guarantees them minimum profit or provides them with financial assistance and any other entity which His Majesty the King authorizes the NAO to monitor, in accordance with Article 4 of the NAO Law.
The auditor general discussed with the heads of parliament ways to strengthen cooperation in auditing and consolidating the principles of integrity, honesty and professionalism to contribute to achieving the goals of the comprehensive development process led by HM King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.
Shaikh Ahmed stressed that the NAO’s audit work included various economic, social, service, health, environmental and other sectors, and adopted a comprehensive audit approach through the implementation of horizontal audit tasks.
He pointed out that during the past professional year 96 audit missions were completed, 140 reports were issued in addition to 98 follow-up reports to ensure that the audited entities implement the recommendations from previous years, and about 776 recommendations were issued.
The auditor general said that during 2021/2022 the NAO followed up on the implementation of its recommendations in its previous audit reports, which showed that the entities subject to its audit implemented or started to implement 79% of its recommendations.
He continued that the NAO’s second follow-up work completed during this year showed that the entities covered by its audit implemented or started to implement 92% of the total recommendations.
He affirmed that the NAO paid great attention to providing on-going training and professional qualification courses for its employees and keeping them informed about the latest relevant developments to enhance their technical and professional skills during 2022.
The NAO had held and participated in about 63 internal and external training courses,seminars and workshops in cooperation with local, regional and international organizations, institutions and specialized agencies benefiting more than 851 participants.
ZHB