Global Integrity Report

The Global Integrity Report (report.globalintegrity.org)

Colombia Home

Facts

Timeline

Notebook

Integrity Scorecard

2007 Assessment

Colombia: Integrity Indicators Scorecard

Colombia: 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?	78
57	Can citizens access reports of the supreme audit institution?	100

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, the Contraloria General de la República is the agency that oversees fiscal management of all public servants, particulars and entities managing public resources.

References: Constitución Política de Colombia 1991. art. 267

Is the supreme audit institution effective?

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

Score:

YES

Comments: According to the Constitution (art. 267), the Supreme Audit Institution (Contraloria) is a technical institution which has administrative and budgetary independence, and belongs to the oversight institutions.

References: Constitución Política de Colombia 1991. art. 267

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

Score:

100

Comments: The director of the Supreme Audit Institution cannot be removed as he or she is elected by both Chambers of Congress for a four-year term. He or she can only be removed if there is a sanction, an inability or an incompatibility.

References: Corporación Transparencia por Colobmai. 2002. El Sistema Nacional de Integridad en Colombia: análisis y Resultados del Estudio de Caso. Cuadernos de Transparencia # 4. Bogotá.

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

Score:

100

Comments: The Supreme Audit Institution has sufficient full-time staff, which is regulated by an independent civil service system. About 60 percent of employees surveyed within the institutional performance survey believe the professional profile and qualifications in the Supreme Audit Institution are pertinent for the fulfillment of its mandate.

For a long time there has been a huge controversy on the pertinence of municipal auditors as it is believed their functions can be carried out by departmental auditors. A referendum conducted in 2003 proposed the elimination of the municipal offices of the Audit Institution.

References: DANE. 2006. AMBIENTE Y DESEMPEÑO INSTITUCIONAL 2005.CONTRALORIA GENERAL DE LA REPUBLICA

Interview with Antonio Hernandez Gamarra. General Auditor. August 4, 2005. Bogotá.

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

Score:

100

Comments: Although the Contralor is formally independent, his/her selection is made by Congress. This in fact links the head of this agency to political commitments which are then reflected in the personnel structure and the decisions made. According to the most recent survey on institutional performance conducted by the Statistics Department (DANE) within 173 public servants in the Audit Institution, about 36 percent of employees believe that there are political criteria involved in appointments but that familiar or personal considerations are not so important (57 percent). However the survey also reports that about 60 percent of employees feel the appointments are merit based.

References: DANE. 2006. AMBIENTE Y DESEMPEÑO INSTITUCIONAL 2005.CONTRALORIA GENERAL DE LA REPUBLICA

Corporación Transparencia por Colombia. 2002. Sistema Nacional de Integridad, Análisis y Resultados del Estudio de Caso. Bogotá.

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

Score:

100

Comments: Funding sources are reliable and consistent from year to year, however according to the most recent survey on institutional performance conducted by the Statistics Departmen (DANE) within 173 public servants in the Audit Institution, about 59.77 percent feel that the budget and physical resources are not enough to carry out with the mandate of the Institution.

References: DANE. 2006. AMBIENTE Y DESEMPEÑO INSTITUCIONAL 2005.CONTRALORIA GENERAL DE LA REPUBLICA

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

Score:

100

Comments: The Contraloria (Supreme Audit institution) produces reports and documents that are public such as: yearly report on State finance, the situation of public debt, the general budget account, the audit report to the general balance of the nation, a monthly financial report, the Econonia Colombiana magazine and special reports. According to the Index of Transparency made by the Corporation Transparency for Colombia, among 155 institutions at the national level, the Supreme Audit institution has the second best score in terms of visibility of its information. According to the most recent survey on institutional performance conducted by the Statistics Department (DANE) within 173 public servants in the Audit Institution, about 82.71 percent consider that the managerial decisions are registered formally in electronic or printed media.

References: DANE. 2006. AMBIENTE Y DESEMPEÑO INSTITUCIONAL 2005.CONTRALORIA GENERAL DE LA REPUBLICA

Corporación Transparencia por Colombia. 2006. Indice de Transparencia Nacional, entidades públicas nacionales. Bogotá.

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

Score:

100

Comments: Usually the reports of the Supreme Audit Institution are taken seriously at the national level, and lead to action of pertinent authorities. However at the local level the situation is different, first because local auditors are widely de-legitimized, as they are often involved in corruption cases, and it is believed that their mandate can be carried out by departmental and national. auditors. The score on this indicator primarily reflects the credibility that the national auditor has gained in recent years despite the lack of credibility of local auditors.

References: Interview with Antonio Hernandez Gamarra. General Auditor. August 4, 2005. Bogota

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

Score:

100

Comments: According to the Constitution, the Supreme Audit Institution can promote investigations on fiscal responsibility before the competent authorities providing all the necessary documentation, and it can request immediate suspension of public servants while penal or disciplinary investigations end. Every three months the Audit Institution publishes the name of all the servants convicted for fiscal responsibility. Between April and June 2007, 4,413 people were sanctioned with fiscal responsibility, which prohibits them from being appointed as civil servants. The action of the Contraloria is more effective at the national level, where it can act independently, than at the local level where auditors are subject to political pressures or lack legitimacy.

References: Contraloria General de la República. Boletín Responsables Fiscales. Boletín No. 050, 4 de julio de 2007. [ LINK ]

Interview with Antonio Hernandez Gamarra.

Can citizens access reports of the supreme audit institution?

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

Score:

YES

Comments: According to the Constitution, the Supreme Audit Institution should present yearly reports to Congress. Even though it is not specified that these reports are public, they usually are published on the Web page of the institution

References: Constitución Política de Colombia 1991. art. 268

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

Score:

100

Comments: Most general information on the decisions of the Supreme Audit Institution can be found online or directly at the offices, but more detailed information can be more difficult to obtain for most citizens. The Supreme Audit Institution has created a system through which any citizen can find online information on the process of fiscal responsibility initiated within the Supreme Audit Institution.

According to the Transparency Index made by the Corporation Transparency for Colombia among 155 institutions at the national level, the Supreme Audit institution has the second best score in terms of visibility of its information.

References: Contraloría General de la República. www.contraloriagen.gov.co

Corporación Transparencia por Colombia. 2006. Indice de Transparencia Nacional, entidades públicas nacionales. Bogotá.

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

Score:

100

Comments: All records available online are easiliy accessible at no cost, however it may be difficult for citizens to understand and properly use the information systems, which are not user friendly.

References: Corporación Transparencia por Colombia. 2006. Indice de Transparencia Nacional, entidades públicas nacionales. Bogotá.

Contraloría General de la República. www.contraloriagen.gov.co