The Auditor General Irakli Mekvabishvili presented the 2021 annual report of the State Audit Office to the Budget and Finance Committee of the Parliament and results of its activities in 2018-2021.
In 2021, the State Audit Office conducted 49 audits, covering over 16.5 billion GEL. The total coverage rate of the country's budget increased to 90%, as a result of which the SAOG met for the first time the standard of auditing coverage established by international best practice. An electronic platform for monitoring the Audit Recommendation Implementation System (www.aris.sao.ge) has been launched, which allows the Parliament to oversee the implementation of the recommendations issued to the audited entities. Over 2,800 recommendations have been issued the last four years, of which 32% were issued in 2021. 60% of the recommendations are fully or partially implemented, while 31% are ongoing.
Last year, the total amount of violations detected by the audits amounted to 107 million GEL, which includes systemic violations. Systemic violations are mainly related to inefficient, uneconomical and inappropriate use of budget resources, as well as shortcomings in procurement and asset management.
In 2021, due to the high-risk circumstances, 19 reports were sent to the law enforcement agencies for further consideration.
