Afghanistan's Control and Audit Office Requires Operational and Budgetary Independence, Enhanced Authority, and Focused International Assistance to Effectively Prevent and Detect Corruption

摘要

The strengthening of institutions that oversee and implement anti- corruption measures in Afghanistan is a key operational principle of the U.S. Government's draft Anti-Corruption Strategy for Afghanistan. The United Nations Convention against Corruption requires Afghanistan to establish accounting and auditing standards, as well as related oversight. As Afghanistan's Supreme Audit Institution, the Control and Audit Office (CAO) is responsible for auditing the financial matters of the government. It has audit authority over state entities within central and provincial governments as well as public enterprises, and carries out audits of funds provided to the Afghan government by external donors. This report assesses: (1) the CAO's current capability and performance in fulfilling its mandate, (2) the assistance provided by the international community to strengthen the internal capacity of the CAO, and (3) the assistance provided by the U. S. Government to strengthen the CAO's internal capacity. This report is part of a series of audits SIGAR is conducting to address U.S. efforts to combat corruption and strengthen the rule of law in Afghanistan. SIGAR conducted this performance audit in Kabul, Afghanistan, and in Washington, D.C., from December 2009 to April 2010 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards.