Project description

Title: Support to National Audit Authority
Commissioned by: German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
Country: Cambodia
Lead executing agency: National Audit Authority
Overall term: October 2006 to December 2014

Context

Lack of transparency and reliability in the public finance system is a significant obstacle to Cambodia’s further development.

In 2000, the National Audit Authority (NAA) was founded as the first supreme national audit institution external to and independent of the Government in the history of Cambodia. The NAA is authorised to audit the Government’s budgeting and financial management and is to guarantee that public funds are disbursed in a correct, business-like and thrifty fashion.

Despite having made every effort, the NAA has as yet been unable to achieve these objectives. The legal basis has been created for financial auditing, but implementation of the individual regulations needs support and improvement.

Objective

The National Audit Authority (NAA) is strengthened in its integrity, competence, reliability and independence. It carries out its functions as an independent external supreme financial audit institution.

Approach

The Support for the National Audit Authority project contributes to the Government’s efforts to reform for good governance and public finances.

Priority areas include:

• Support in further developing the legal basis for financial auditing
• Drawing up and implementing a strategic development plan for NAA
• Support integration into the regional and international networks of the supreme audit institutions: the International Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI); regional work groups (Asian Association of Supreme Audit Institutions - ASOSAI) promote the objectives of INTOSAI on the regional level.
• Training programmes in cooperation with national institutions and development partner organisations.

Results achieved so far

After conducting a comprehensive needs analysis, the NAA drew up a Strategic Development Plan 2007 – 2011. The project advised the NAA in developing the plan and will also support the implementation of this intra-organisational strategy.