Al-Zaydi criticizes the work of the Financial Control Bureau and directs the use of international companies.
On Monday, Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi criticized the work of the Financial Control Bureau in Iraq, directing the formation of a central committee from the Ministry of Finance and the use of international companies to improve the work of the Bureau.
Al-Zaydi said in a recorded speech during a cabinet session, “The Financial Control Bureau is the most important oversight institution in Iraq, as well as in the region, and I have some observations about its work, because some documents in the Bureau are destroyed after five years, and some public companies have not had their work audited for more than five years, and this is not right.”
Al-Zaydi continued: “Every fiscal year that ends, the Audit Bureau must conduct an audit in the seventh month of the following year. If there are minor observations, they are addressed, but if there are substantial observations, they are referred to the judiciary.”
For its part, the Prime Minister’s Media Office said in a statement received by Shafaq News Agency that Al-Zidi chaired the third regular session of the Council of Ministers, during which the general situation in the country was discussed, and the topics on the agenda were considered and the necessary decisions were made regarding them.
During the meeting, Al-Zaydi stressed the importance of the work of the Federal Financial Control Bureau and its overall performance in the field of protecting public funds and financial auditing of spending on projects, as the Council hosted the head of the Federal Financial Control Bureau to review the Bureau’s work.
Al-Zaydi emphasized the tasks assigned to the Bureau within the framework of oversight and prevention, and in the paths of combating corruption, controlling financial spending, and identifying the necessary solutions in dealing with government spending, directing the adoption of a mechanism to determine a higher ceiling for contracts, and anything exceeding the specified ceiling is referred to a specialized central committee that takes over its approval.
Al-Zaydi instructed that pre- and post-audit processes be adopted for the implementation of projects, expenditures, and spending of public funds, stressing the importance of not delaying the financial audit of public companies each year and that it should not exceed the fiscal year to address observations, and to refer the necessary ones to the judiciary.
Al-Zaydi stressed the importance of using international auditing firms, developing the auditing mechanism used by the Diwan, and monitoring funds until the end of their investment in projects.
Al-Zaydi directed that the head of the Financial Control Bureau be given the authority to rotate general managers in their duties, and to support the work of the Bureau with all the functional staff and human resources required to accomplish its tasks.
Shafaq.com