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The General Auditing Bureau of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was established in 1953. Its role was confined to traditional financial post-audit tasks until its current statutes were issued in line with the Royal Decree of 1971. The new statutes extended its functions to include performance auditing in addition to financial and compliance auditing. The Bureau also assumed responsibility to monitor the current and fixed assets of the state and ensure their proper deployment and to establish a follow-up mechanism to track the consistent application of financial and accounting rules and regulations.
The Bureau's mandate covers the following auditees:
* All ministries and government departments and their branches.
* Public corporations and all other units and agencies that have independent budgets but receive financial assistance from the state by way of subsidy or for investment purposes.
* All private enterprises or companies in which the state contributes to its capital or guarantees a minimum level of profit.
* Any other agency whose audit is authorized by a directive from The Custodian of the two Holy Mosques, King Fahad Bin Abdulaziz, or his Cabinet, the Council of Ministers.
Independence
The first article of the statutes states that the Bureau is an independent institution that reports directly to The Custodian of the two Holy Mosques, King Fahad Bin Abdulaziz. Article (3) of the same statute stipulates that the President of the Bureau is appointed, and may only be deposed, by a Royal Directive. The Presidents remuneration is treated in accordance with the special rules designed for those of "ministerial status." The Bureau's Vice-President is also appointed by a Royal Directive.
According to Article (28) of the Bureau's statute, the President, Vice-President, and other staff are prohibited from involvement in any other paid or unpaid government work. This measure is intended to...