The Chamber of Accounts of the Republic of Azerbaijan Expands International Cooperation

Author: Chamber of Accounts of the Republic of Azerbaijan

The Chamber of Accounts of the Republic of Azerbaijan actively participates in strengthening external public financial control at the international level in close cooperation with foreign partners. As one of its main activities, the Chamber of Accounts is strengthening relationships with institutions performing relevant functions in foreign countries and with other Supreme Audit Institutions to further international cooperation.

In 2022, as part of these activities, the Chamber of Accounts signed a Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen bilateral cooperation with the General Audit Court of Saudi Arabia, whose professional experience in public financial control is greatly valued in the international SAI community. The signing ceremony took place on May 5, 2022 during the visit of a delegation led by the President of the General Audit Court of Saudi Arabia, Mr. Hussam Alangari to Baku, Azerbaijan.

The Chamber of Accounts plans to establish bilateral cooperation with the SAI of Saudi Arabia in the following areas:

• Study of modern approaches to auditing and application of international auditing standards;
• Study of experiences regarding conducting audits of sovereign fiscal funds, public debt, procurement, Sustainable Development Goals, auditing of information technology systems;
• Study of the application of quality control measures in the audit process and reports of external public financial control activities;
• Cooperation with the Training Center to increase the knowledge and skills of the staff of SAI Azerbaijan through trainings in the above mentioned areas;
• Improving SAI Azerbaijan staff knowledge and skills on financial, compliance and performance audits.

On May 20, 2022, as a next step in strengthening international relations, The Chamber of Accounts renewed the Memorandum of Understanding with the Court of Accounts of the Republic of Turkey, which established friendly relations between the two organizations from the Chamber of Accounts’ first day of establishment. For the renewal, a delegation led by the President of the Turkish Court of Accounts, Mr. Metin Yener, visited Azerbaijan. Under the renewed Memorandum, cooperation with SAI Turkey includes plans to organize the following:

• Knowledge exchange of field experience on external public audit methodology and procedures;
• Professional training, including improvement of practical knowledge of staff on professional standards;
• Exchange of information and documents on professional activity;
• Development of joint research and parallel audits, seminars, conferences and working meetings;
• Expansion of cooperation in other areas within INTOSAI, EUROSAI, ASOSAI, ECOSAI and their Working Groups, Committees and Task Forces.