GAB cites lack of cooperation from govt offices RIYADH – Financial mismanagement, poor accounting practices and misuse of State funds has been revealed in an audit of government departments by the Kingdom's financial watchdog, the General Auditing Bureau (GAB). King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, received Sunday the 49th annual report of the GAB, for the fiscal year 2007-08 which highlighted a number of instances of financial mismanagement across various government offices. When auditing the financial performance of government departments in 2007-08, many government departments were found to have spent resources in an illegal manner, said Osama Jafar Faqih, chairman of the GAB in his speech before the King and in the presence of Crown Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz. The GAB is the body that audits the State's revenue, expenditure, current and fixed assets and oversees the use and maintenance of government funds. Many government departments failed to cooperate with the GAB during the auditing process, Faqih told the King, and they did not heed instructions to correct their misuse of funds, he added. Financial violations had also delayed many vital government projects and weak follow-up on projects led to poor execution of others that did not stick to contract specifications, Faqih said. Many government departments had also failed to collect their due funds on time and deposit them in the government's treasury. Faqih was referring to the funds collected for passports renewal and business license fees, among other dues. Faqih added that many government departments did not abide by the State's budget financial regulations, citing failure to prepare final accounts and balance sheets timely. Faqih not only criticized government departments, but also the companies supported by the government. Poor performance of government-supported companies incurred huge losses, he said. The report called on all government departments to stop unauthorized spending patterns and stick to the financial regulations of the State's general budgets when spending their allocations. The report urged accurate and prompt collection of government dues, and for all departments to create internal audit departments for closer monitoring of spending. The GAB called for more transparency and accountability when administering government funds. Violators should be punished and law-abiding departments should be rewarded for quality control, the report recommended. “Would you please order the government departments to fully cooperate with the GAB for better performance with total independence amid huge government spending on development projects across the Kingdom,” Faqih told King Abdullah.
