KUWAIT: The Kuwait Anti-Corruption Authority (Nazaha) organized a workshop on Wednesday entitled “Strengthening Accountability and Auditing Mechanisms in the Public Sector” with the participation of the Government Performance Follow-up Authority, the Audit Bureau, the Internal Auditors Association and various government agencies.

The Assistant Secretary-General for the Prevention Sector at Nazaha, Abrar Al-Hammad, said in her speech during the workshop that the ways to prevent corruption are many and numerous, the most important of which is internal audit. So the workshop aims to activate internal audit offices and control operational processes whether financial or administrative.

Al-Hammad pointed out the importance of this workshop as an important element in the process of applying good governance and raising awareness of the importance of the role of internal audit in enhancing transparency, accountability and integrity as well as enhancing the skills and knowledge of participants and developing their capabilities in the field of internal audit.

“The audit process is one of the main tributaries of the fight against corruption, as the Kuwait Strategy for Enhancing Integrity and Combating Corruption (2019-2024) singled out the initiative to enhance and support the process of reviewing accountability standards and mechanisms in the public sector,” she said adding the State Audit Institution issued the internal audit methodology, as part of its implementation of the role entrusted to it in this initiative.

Al-Hammad pointed out that Nazaha invited 72 government agencies to this workshop to participate in the actual experience of the authority, how to activate the inspection and audit office, the obstacles that can be faced, and internal audit methodologies in government agencies in accordance with best practices.

She indicated that the purpose of this methodology is to support the staff of audit and inspection offices to achieve the objectives of internal audit on raising the level of transparency and reliability of financial and administrative reports, helping to improve control and risk management procedures, improving the overall performance of entities and ensuring fair and responsible dealing at all levels.