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Supporting the VNR through accounting and auditing
Objective
Engage the State Audit Bureau as an effective oversight party to increase the effectiveness of the VNR.
Overview
The State Audit Bureau (SAB) prepared a roadmap to inform auditors about the SDGs, build their capacities, and form a specialized team from the SAB to achieve effective audit work. It also strengthened partnerships with Arab and international organizations, chaired the SDG oversight committee of the Asian Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (ASOSAI), and participated in the organization’s twelfth study on SDG auditing using big data.
The SAB played a key role in the various VNR phases in Kuwait. After the first VNR (2019), the SAB prepared a detailed report that included observations on the VNR. In the second VNR (2023), it partnered with various institutions and supervised more than 14 national entities with the aim of optimizing the use of resources, achieving financial stability, and enhancing cost-effectiveness.
The VNR report highlighted in more than one SDG the role of the SAB:
- Overseeing the completion of several mega projects in the country (SDGs 2, 3, 9 and 12).
- Building the capacity of SAB staff (SDGs 4 and 13).
- Preparing SDG-related assessment studies (SDGs 5 and 8).
- Signing a memorandum of understanding with the Kuwait Anti-Corruption Authority (Nazaha) (SDG 16).
- Supporting water management projects and services. The SAB is responsible for accounting and auditing projects supervised by State institutions (SDG 6).
- Evaluating and activating renewable energy projects, either through technical feedback or by auditing the development of projects and monitoring their progress, such as the advanced photovoltaic project (SDG 7).
The report highlighted the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, which prompted the SAB to strengthen exceptional financial control procedures and develop extraordinary supporting administrative work procedures.
Coordination with the SAB enriched the 2023 VNR report in a cross-target manner. The report also highlighted the role of the SAB in raising awareness and conducting professional training on SDG auditing, in addition to its participation in important national policy and oversight meetings at the level of the Council of Ministers, national associations, municipal councils and others. The SAB continues to issue audit reports related to sustainable development.