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2007 Assessment

Azerbaijan: Integrity Indicators Scorecard

Azerbaijan: Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: Supreme Audit Institution
Indicators		Score
55	In law, is there a national supreme audit institution, auditor general or equivalent agency covering the entire public sector?	100
56	Is the supreme audit institution effective?	56
57	Can citizens access reports of the supreme audit institution?	50

Indicator and sub-Indicator Details

In law, is there a national supreme audit institution, auditor general or equivalent agency covering the entire public sector?

55: In law, is there a national supreme audit institution, auditor general or equivalent agency covering the entire public sector?

Score:

YES

Comments: According to the Constitution of Azerbaijan (article 92), the Chamber of Account and Chamber of Auditors are established in Azerbaijan.

References: Reference: The Legislation of Azerbaijan Republic.

Is the supreme audit institution effective?

56a: In law, the supreme audit institution is protected from political interference.

Score:

YES

Comments: Under the Law on Audit Service (article 1), the chamber is an independent institution and is protected from political interference.

References: Reference: The Law on Audit Service of Azerbaijan Republic.

56b: In practice, the head of the audit agency is protected from removal without relevant justification.

Score:

100

Comments: It depends on the political decision. If the government wants it, the head of the audit agency can be removed without relevant justification.

References: Reference: Interview with Rovshen Agayev, independent expert. Reports by local and international organizations. www.ourworld.compuserve.com

Peer Review Comments: The chairman of the Chamber of Accounts can be dismissed through the formal dismissal issuance by the Parliament speaker. Justifications can be fuzzy, so it's a combination of official and unofficial pressures.

Peer Review Comments: The parliament approves and dismisses the chairman and deputy chairman of the Auditors Chamber.

56c: In practice, the audit agency has a professional, full-time staff.

Score:

100

Comments: The Chamber of Audit has a full-time, professional staff.

References: Reference; Interview with staff of The Chamber of Audit. Reports by The Chamber of Audit www.audit.gov.az/index_en.php

56d: In practice, audit agency appointments support the independence of the agency.

Score:

100

Comments: The Chamber of Audit is not totally depended on the government; however, it is hard to evalute how independent it is, in terms of appointments.

References: Refence: Interview with Vugar Bayramov, chairman of the Center for Economic and Social Development (CESD). Reports by CESD on auditing.

56e: In practice, the audit agency receives regular funding.

Score:

100

Comments: It regularly receives funding from the state budget and fees according to the contracts.

References: Reference: Interview with Vugar Bayramov, chairman of the Center for Economic and Social Development (CESD) (August 2007). Reports by the Parliament of Azerbaijan. www.parliament.az Reports by ERC. www.erc-az.org

Peer Review Comments: The audit agency receives regular funding from the government.

Peer Review Comments: The audit agency also receives fees for issuing licenses to independent auditors.

56f: In practice, the audit agency makes regular public reports.

Score:

100

Comments: The chamber's site is not often updated, and reports are submitted only to the parliament. Citizens hardly have access to those reports.

References: Reference: Interview with Vugar Bayramov, chairman of the Center for Economic and Social Development (CESD). www.audit.gov.az/index_en.php

56g: In practice, the government acts on the findings of the audit agency.

Score:

100

Comments: In practice, the government acts on the findings of the audit agency.

References: Reference: Interview with Vugar Bayramov, chairman of the Center for Economic and Social Development (CESD). Reports by ERC. www.erc-az.org

Peer Review Comments: Audit reports are often given superficial attention.

56h: In practice, the audit agency is able to initiate its own investigations.

Score:

100

Comments: The audit institute is able to initiate its own investigations; however, the results of those investigations are not open to all citizens.

References: Reference: Interview with Vugar Bayramov, chairman of the Center for Economic and Social Development (CESD) (August 2007). ERC Reports. www.erc-az.org

Peer Review Comments: The audit agency initiates most investigations under a political order.

Peer Review Comments: In practice, the investigations depend on the executive branch, particularly the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Taxes.

Can citizens access reports of the supreme audit institution?

57a: In law, citizens can access reports of the audit agency.

Score:

YES

Comments: The Law on Audit Service requires public disclosure of reports.

References: Reference: The Law on Audit Service of Azerbaijan Republic.

57b: In practice, citizens can access audit reports within a reasonable time period.

Score:

100

Comments: There is very limited access to reports, and reports take more than a month to acquire.

References: Reference: Interview with Rovshen Agayev, independent expert (August 2007). Reports by "Expert" Economic Journal. www.ekspert.az

57c: In practice, citizens can access the audit reports at a reasonable cost.

Score:

100

Comments: There is a high cost to accessing to those reports, due to limited access. The costs are prohibitive to most citizens.

References: Reference: Interview with Rovshen Agayev, independent expert. Reports by "Expert" Journal. www.ekspert.az

Peer Review Comments: There is no cost for accessing the reports according to the law ([ LINK ]), but getting them is not an easy process.

Peer Review Comments: If the report is published, it is free of charge.