| Iraq: Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: Supreme Audit Institution | ||
| Indicators | Score | |
| 58 | Is there a national supreme audit institution, auditor general or equivalent agency covering the entire public sector? | 100 |
| 59 | Is the supreme audit institution effective? | 59 |
| 60 | Can citizens access reports of the supreme audit institution? | 0 |
Indicator and sub-Indicator Details
| 58 | Is there a national supreme audit institution, auditor general or equivalent agency covering the entire public sector? | |||||||
| 58: In law, is there a national supreme audit institution, auditor general or equivalent agency covering the entire public sector? | ||||||||
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Comments: References: CPA Law no. 77, Re-Establishment of the Audit Office. Board of Supreme Audit, [ LINK ].
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| 59 | Is the supreme audit institution effective? | |||||||
| 59a: In law, the supreme audit institution is protected from political interference. | ||||||||
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Comments: All the Board of Supreme Audit decisions are transferred to the prime minister's office. The BSA is, according to the Iraqi Constitution, an independent institution in law (article 103) (US State Department Iraq Corruption Report, p. 5). References: Board of Supreme Audit, [ LINK ]. "'Classified' Iraq Corruption Report posted online": [ LINK ] Iraq Corruption Report: [ LINK ]
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| 59b: In practice, the head of the audit agency is protected from removal without relevant justification. | ||||||||
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Comments: Only after they are removed can the head of the agency appeal to the Administrative Court, which is a branch of the Supreme Judicial Council. In practice, no agency audit head has won his case. The government influences the court's decisions. References: Board of Supreme Audit, [ LINK ]. Interview with Mr. Rahdi al-Rahdi, former head of the Integrity Commission (Washington D.C., Aug. 6 2008).
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| 59c: In practice, the audit agency has a professional, full-time staff. | ||||||||
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Comments: The authors of the US State Department's Iraq Corruption Report speculate that auditors have safety concerns similar to those faced by the inspector generals (p. 13). References: Board of Supreme Audit, [ LINK ]. Interview with Mr. Rahdi al-Rahdi, former head of the Integrity Commission (Washington D.C., Aug. 6 2008). "'Classified' Iraq Corruption Report posted online": [ LINK ] Iraq Corruption Report: [ LINK ]
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| 59d: In practice, audit agency appointments support the independence of the agency. | ||||||||
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Comments: Names of audit agency candidates are presented by the political parties. References: Board of Supreme Audit, [ LINK ]. Interview with Mr. Rahdi al-Rahdi, former head of the Integrity Commission (Washington D.C., Aug. 6 2008).
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| 59e: In practice, the audit agency receives regular funding. | ||||||||
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Comments: References: Board of Supreme Audit, [ LINK ].
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| 59f: In practice, the audit agency makes regular public reports. | ||||||||
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Comments: Though, theoretically, audit agencies should make such reports public, they actually only provide them to the prime minister's office and the Integrity Commission. References: Board of Supreme Audit, [ LINK ]. Interview with Mr. Rahdi al-Rahdi, former head of the Integrity Commission (Washington D.C., Aug. 6 2008).
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| 59g: In practice, the government acts on the findings of the audit agency. | ||||||||
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Comments: The Audit Agency reports to the Integrity Commission, but the prime minister's office usually does not take action. Instead, they have issued directives preventing the Audit Agency or the Integrity Commission from taking any direct action against former and current ministers. References: Board of Supreme Audit, [ LINK ]. Interview with Mr. Rahdi al-Rahdi, former head of the Integrity Commission (Washington D.C., Aug. 6 2008).
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| 59h: In practice, the audit agency is able to initiate its own investigations. | ||||||||
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Comments: The US State Department Report on Iraqi Corruption notes that the the BSA is a "long-standing agency [that] has a good reputation but we know little of its performance [...] the reputation may be overrated. BSA audits have resulted in few investigations of corruption" (p. 13). References: Board of Supreme Audit, [ LINK ]. Interview with Mr. Rahdi al-Rahdi, former head of the Integrity Commission (Washington D.C., Aug. 6 2008). "'Classified' Iraq Corruption Report posted online": [ LINK ] Iraq Corruption Report: [ LINK ]
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| 60 | Can citizens access reports of the supreme audit institution? | |||||||
| 60a: In law, citizens can access reports of the audit agency. | ||||||||
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Comments: The Audit Agency should make their reports public, but in practice it never has. References: Board of Supreme Audit, [ LINK ]. Interview with Mr. Rahdi al-Rahdi, former head of the Integrity Commission (Washington D.C., Aug. 6 2008).
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| 60b: In practice, citizens can access audit reports within a reasonable time period. | ||||||||
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Comments: Reports are not public are instead sent to the PM's office. References: Board of Supreme Audit, [ LINK ]. Interview with Mr. Rahdi al-Rahdi, former head of the Integrity Commission (Washington D.C., Aug. 6 2008).
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| 60c: In practice, citizens can access the audit reports at a reasonable cost. | ||||||||
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Comments: Reports are not public and instead are forwarded only to the PM's office. References: Board of Supreme Audit, [ LINK ]. Interview with Mr. Rahdi al-Rahdi, former head of the Integrity Commission (Washington D.C., Aug. 6 2008).
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