The Accounts Committee held ECOSAI Seminar on “Audit of Public Debt”

The Accounts Committee for Control over Execution of the Republican Budget of the Republic of Kazakhstan held an online seminar “Audit of Public Debt” among members and observers of the Economic Cooperation Organisation's Supreme Audit Institutions (ECOSAI). The moderator of the seminar was Rasul Rakhimov, a Member of the Accounts Committee.  

The seminar was attended by 28 representatives of the Supreme Audit Institutions of the Republic of Belarus, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the State of Qatar, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the State of Palestine, the Republic of Tajikistan, the Republic of Turkey and the Republic of Uzbekistan.   

At the event, the issues on audit of public debt management and reducing the risks of dependence on external creditors were discussed.

Ayman Alhroub, Director of State Audit Administrative Control Bureau of Palestine, noted in his report that the analysis of public debt is carried out as part of the annual report of the Supreme Audit Institution. In turn, the Chief Inspector of the Accounts Chamber of Uzbekistan, Saidrasul Nadjimitdinov, shared his experience regarding the establishment of “External Debt Auditing sector” in the Accounts Chamber, with main functions – auditing  the effectiveness and compliance of projects financed by borrowed funds.   

The Head of the Department of International Cooperation of the Accounts Committee of Kazakhstan, Lyailim Kashimova, noted in her report that the policy of state borrowing is used quite widely. But government loans can be justified only when they are used effectively. Otherwise, if loans are used unsuccessfully, then the debt on their payments falls on taxpayers and future generation. Therefore, the SAI needs to assess the public debt on ongoing basis.

Summing up, the moderator of the seminar Rasul Rakhimov emphasized that the role of the Supreme Audit Institutions in the management of public debt is becoming increasingly important.  The SAIs analyze and audit the public debt not only on compliance or efficiency view, but also as part of the audit of financial statements and preparing conclusion to Government's report on budget execution.

The seminar participants expressed hope that the seminar will contribute to improving the effectiveness of the SAI and the implementation of an important mission to ensure a dynamic increase of quality of living conditions of the population in our countries.

Press service of the Accounts Committee