The State Audit Office received the highest score A in the 2022 assessment of State Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA) of Georgia improving the B+ score obtained in 2018.
The PEFA assessment, which has been carried out by the World Bank with engagement of the Ministry of Finance of Georgia and with the support of the European Union, identifies the strengths and weaknesses of the country's public finance management system. The results of the assessment will be included in the 2023-2026 Public Finance Management Strategy of Georgia.
The report covers three complete fiscal years and assesses the State Audit Office in four directions: institutional independence; Budget coverage indicators and standards; timely submission of audit reports to the Parliament; Monitoring system of implementation of the SAO’s recommendations.
In 2018, in three components out of the four directions, the State Audit Office received the highest score - A and score B in monitoring the implementation of audit recommendations. The implementation of the electronic platform for monitoring the Audit Recommendation Implementation System (ARIS) of the Audit Office increased the assessment of this component to the A score, as a result of which the Office has fully met the requirements of PEFA.
PEFA is a worldwide system of public expenditures performance assessment.
Assessment report was presented to the society by Sebastian Molineus, World Bank Regional Director for the South Caucasus, and Patrick Umah Tete, the World Bank's Senior Financial Management Specialist. The presentation was attended by the representatives of the Ministry of Finance, the State Procurement Agency, the State Audit Office, the Budget Office of the Parliament, donor organizations and field experts.
