December 9 is an international anti-corruption day. According to the UN data, corruption level of global GDP is 5% (US$ 2.6 trillion) annually and approximately more than US$1 trillion is spent for the bribe.
Corruption is a serious threat for social and economic development of the society. No country and society is secured from corruption. Therefore, for the prevention of corruption and eradication of its risks it is necessary to use joint efforts and consolidation of the governmental branches, institution and society.
In its turn, the SAO, with its activity, significantly contributes in the accountability of the government and in the ensuring of the state funds transparently, efficiently and purposefully.
The SAO’s main contribution in the anti-corruption activity is audit reports and issued recommendations. Auditors of the SAO conduct risk-based audits and indicate possible corruption-based high-risk areas. Implementation of the issued recommendations, as a result of audits, substantially reduces the risks of fraud and corruption.
In the last three years, the State Audit Office increased budget with its auditing activities and at the present time, our activity covers 90% of the state budget, which equals to 9 billion GEL. During this period, the State Audit Office issued 745 recommendations in total and increased the number of audited areas.
In 2013-2015, the SAO revealed 32 million GEL of dishonest management of state property, 44 million GEL of inefficient management of the budget resources, 150 million GEL of illegal procurement, 39 million of GEL of ineffective and 166 million GEL of inappropriate use of funds.
Taking into account findings of audits carried out by the State Audit Office, state procurements can be considered as one of the important directions of possible risks of corruption. Despite the most important reforms implemented in recent years, as a result of which we got one of the most transparent procurement systems in the world, fundamental eradication of all deficiencies and reduction of corruption risks are still significant challenges. Audits carried out by the SAO in the procurement system showed that significant shortcomings take place at all stages of procurement, especially in the planning and implementation stage. It should be noted that in 2015 the total value of state procurement exceeded 3 billion GEL.
State Audit Office believes that the involvement of the civil society in the corruption detection and prevention process in public sector is essential. That is why, with the help of our web-site, all the stakeholders have the possibility, in case of their wish and with privacy protection, to share the information about the corruption in the field of public finances. Each message, after the analysis, will become one of the main criteria for the selection of audit topics.
Aimed at the detection and prevention of corruption, the State Audit Office is actively cooperating with all stakeholders and always cares about the introduction of effective communication mechanisms with the society.
