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Cambodia
ROYAL
KRAM
No.CS/RKM/0300/10
We,
Preah Bat
Samdech Norodom Sihanouk,
The King of the Kingdom
of Cambodia,
PROMULGATE
The Law on
Audit of the Kingdom of Cambodia was passed by the National Assembly on the 12th
of January 2000 at its third plenary session of the second legislature and approved
by the Senate on all of its forms and legal concepts on the 21st of
January 2000 at its second plenary session of the first legislature and was
declared to be conformed with the Constitution by the Constitutional Council,
except the article 40, and is entirely stated as follows:
LAW ON AUDIT
CHAPTER 1
General Provisions
Article 1:
The purpose of this Law shall be to establish a National
Audit Authority, which is independent in its operations. The National Audit Authority
shall be responsible for executing the external audit function of the Royal
Government. The Auditor-General shall be empowered to conduct audits on accounting records, accounts, management systems,
operation controls and programs of government institutions in accordance
with generally accepted auditing standards and Royal Government auditing standards.
This Law also established the internal audit function in
government ministries, institutions and public enterprises.
Article 2:
The government
institutions in the provisions of this Law shall include ministries,
institutions, agencies, authorities,
national bank, state financial institutions, state and private sector joint
venture financial institutions,
public enterprises, public establishments, municipal, provincial and local government offices, contractors,
suppliers of goods and services to the Royal Government under contracts, and other organizations receiving
financial assistance from the Royal Government in addition to their own equity and credits such as tax and
duty exemptions and other concessions to non-profit organizations and
private investment enterprises.
Article 3:
In this Law, external
audit includes the implementation of the following types of audits:
(a)
Audit on Financial statements
(b)
Audit on the management of credit project financed by external
sources
(c)
Audit on management systems and operations of all institutions
(d)
Audit on evaluation, efficiency and effectiveness of operations
(e)
Audit on non-profit organizations, associations, political parties
and private investment enterprises as stated in article 2 of this Law
(f)
Audit upon the special request
Article 4:
External audit is an
examination or review of the accounting records, operation management systems and the control of government institutions in
compliance with generally accepted auditing standards and Royal
Government standards of auditing to provide assurance that:
(a)
Financial and economic activities are fairly presented in
statements and reports
(b)
These activities are in accordance with generally accepted
accounting principles
(c)
Control of procedures and practices are in
compliance with laws, regulations, agreements, management systems, contracts, programs and other criteria related to revenues,
expenditures and usages of the Royal Government resources.
CHAPTER 2
Types of Audits
Article 5:
Audit
on the financial statements and reports of ministries and institutions which
constitutes the basis in preparing the
consolidated financial statements of the Royal Government for the year ended
which are prepared by the Ministry of Economy and Finance prior to
submission to the legislative body.
Audit on the
accuracy, completeness, authorization, validation and consistency of financial data appearing on the statements of ministries,
institutions and the consolidated financial statements of the Royal Government.
Audit on the financial statements of public enterprises
and authorities is comprised of balance sheet,
profit and loss statement and notes to the accounts forming apart of the
financial statements. This audit also
includes the financial statements of the business enterprises of the ministries,
institutions, provinces, municipalities, and local government offices.
Article 6:
Audit on the financial statements and other reports requested by
international aid agencies and lenders under the external funded projects. This
audit shall certify the accuracy and the appropriateness of
the required documents to withdraw and make the payment on each project together with minutes showing the compliance with the terms and
conditions of the credit and project agreements. The audit shall further evaluate the performances of the operation after
their completion.
Article 7:
Audit on the control systems to form an opinion on the adequacy of
controls in the management systems and processes established by management over
activities and operations.
Article 8:
Audit on functions or ongoing operations within government
institutions to ensure that their operations are complied with applicable
laws, regulations and principles. This audit
includes public procurement, personnel payroll, contracts, public
property management and mission.
Article 9:
Audit to evaluate the economy,
efficiency, effectiveness of operations and outcomes of the
Royal Government program. This audit includes the review of operations of public
institutions either financial or non-financial institutions.
Article 10:
Audit on compliance with the defined
provisions related to operations of non-profit organizations,
associations and political parties which have
received financial assistance from the Royal Government in form of
exemptions from customs duties, salary tax, other taxes as well as privileges
and immunities not provided by the law. The objective of this audit is to
ensure that the Royal Government
would not
lose of revenue associated with the tax exemptions and ensure that the relevant
institution operates within the
pre-defined framework of its purpose.
Article 11:
Audit on compliance of private investment enterprises that
have received exemptions and concessions from the Royal Government of Cambodia
to exploit the natural resources in the Kingdom of Cambodia. This audit focuses on
compliance with the agreements, the terms and conditions of the Royal
Government approvals.
Article 12:
Audit at the request of the Finance and Banking Commission
of the National Assembly, National Assembly, Senate, ministries, institutions
or authorities for a special review on
part
or the entire audit operation raised by request party. The performance of the
audit mentioned in this article shall be at the discretion of the
Auditor-General.
Article 13:
The audits covered in the article 5 to 12 shall be
undertaken by the National Audit Authority.
CHAPTER 3
The National Audit Authority
(NAA)
Article 14:
The National Audit Authority is an independent public entity
and shall report directly to the National Assembly, Senate and the Royal
Government for information purpose. The National
Audit Authority shall be led by one Auditor-General and have two Deputy
Auditor-Generals.
Article 15:
To perform its mission and implement this Law, the National
Audit Authority is empowered to issue decisions, regulations, circulars, and
other instructions.
Article 16:
The
officials of the National Audit Authority shall have its own separate statute.
Article 17:
The National Audit Authority shall have its own
separate budget provided by the national budget.
The revenues and expenditures of the National Audit Authority shall be
governed by the financial system law.
CHAPTER 4
The appointment of the Auditor-General
And Deputy Auditor-Generals
Article 18:
The
Auditor-General and the Deputy Auditor-Generals shall be appointed by royal
decree on the recommendation of the Royal Government and approved by a
two-third (2/3) majority of all members of the National Assembly.
The Auditor-General and the Deputy
Auditor-Generals shall be appointed for a term of five (5) years and may be
reappointed for another five (5) year term only upon the completion of the
first term.
In case of the Auditor-General or
the Deputy Auditor-General(s) die(s), resign(s), disable(s) or commit(s)
serious mistake, a new Auditor-General or Deputy Auditor-General(s) shall be
appointed under the terms and conditions stated in this Law.
The
Auditor-General shall have rank and privileges equivalent to a Senior Minister
and the Deputy Auditor-General shall have rank and privileges equivalent to a
Minister.
Article 19:
The
candidates for the Auditor-General and Deputy Auditor-General positions shall
be dignitaries having:
-
Cambodian nationality at birth
-
Degree in higher education or equivalent degree
in accounting or economics or finance or law or commerce with proper
certification
-
Professional or working experiences for at least
10 (ten) years
-
No position in the governing body of any
political party.
Article 20:
The
Auditor-General shall have the responsibilities to lead the National Audit Authority,
be in charge of the implementation of policies, goals and objectives of the
National Audit Authority and have authority to act in all matters stipulated in
this Law.
Article 21:
The
Auditor-General shall have the power to appoint, replace, apply sanctions and
determine salaries, benefits and bonus of official and staff of the
National Audit Authority.
CHAPTER 5
Audit Reports
Article 22:
The Royal Government shall submit the yearly
statements of the budget settlements to the National Assembly and Senate
for debate and vote. At the same time, the Royal Government must also submit these statements to the National Audit
Authority for auditing. The National
Audit Authority must certify these
statements and issue the audit reports to the National Assembly and the Senate.
Article 23:
If the Royal Government fails to submit these
budget settlement documents to the
National
Audit Authority within a period of 9 (nine) months after the end of the
financial year. Auditor-General shall report this delay to the National
Assembly and the Senate.
Article 24:
The
Auditor-General shall issue report to the National Assembly, the Senate, the
Council of Ministers, Ministry of Economy and Finance and relevant ministries
with regard to the irregularities in the accounting records, monetary and asset
management within any entity.
Article 25:
The
Auditor-General shall issued reports and remarks on matters related to
accounting records, moneys, assets and long-term liabilities in accordance with
the provisions of this Law.
Article 26:
Notwithstanding any
other provision that related to audit matters, the Auditor-General shall audit
the accounting records of any authority or institution, certify the
accounting records, and issue necessary reports to the head of those authorities or institutions and to the National
Assembly, Senate and relevant ministries.
Article 27:
The Auditor-General
shall regularly report to the National Assembly and the Senate any problem
arising from the conduct of his/her duties or the usage of his/her powers as
stipulated in this Law.
Article 28:
After preparing a
performance audit report of any institution, the Auditor-General shall send
a copy of this proposed report to the head of this institution. If the head of
the institution gives the written comments to the Auditor-General within
twenty-eight (28) days after receiving the
proposed report, the Auditor-General must consider those comments before
preparing a final report. Otherwise,
if the head of the institution has not replied within the time period specified
above, the proposed report shall be considered valid.
Article 29:
The
reports issued by the Auditor-General shall be deemed to be public documents.
CHAPTER 6
Power of Gathering Information
Article 30:
The Auditor-General may require by written notice to the head or
representative of the relevant
institution to:
(a) Provide the Auditor-General or authorized
official with necessary information. An authorized official is an official
who is authorized in writing by the Auditor-General to perform the functions in
Chapter 6 of this Law
(b)
Cooperate and provide any evidence to the Auditor-General or an
authorized official
(c) Provide any related documents under control
of the head or representative of the relevant ministries to the Auditor-General or an
authorized official.
Article 31:
The
Auditor-General may direct that:
(a)
The
information shall be provided verbally or in writing and be certified that is
legally accurate.
(b)
The Auditor-General has the right to verify
the accuracy of the information and evidences provided.
Article 32:
The Auditor-General or
the authorized official:
(a)
May during working hours enter and remain on the auditee’s
premises
(b)
Is entitled to fully and freely access to documents, reports or properties
belonging to government ministries/institutions
(c)
May examine, make copies or extract documents from any report.
Article 33:
An authorized official entitled to enter or remain on auditee’s premises
must show the written authorization letter signed by the Auditor-General. After
seeing the authorization letter, the auditee shall facilitate the authorized
official in his/her audit work.
Article 34:
It is prohibited for the
information provider to make false statements either verbally or in writing.
CHAPTER 7
Confidentiality of
Information
Article 35:
Any authorized official who obtains the information directly or
indirectly during the fulfillment of his/her work stipulated in this Law, such official
must not disclose, divulge or leak that information
to the public except for the internal use in performing the function of the
National Audit Authority.
Article 36:
The
prohibition in article 35 of this Law has no impact on disclosing, divulging or
providing information in the report, containing the conclusion,
remarks or observations of the Auditor-General.
Article 37:
The Auditor-General shall not include detailed information in the
public report to be released for the public if:
(a) The Auditor-General believes that the disclosure
of the information would be contrary to the public interest for any of the
reasons setting out in article 38 of this Law
(b) The Royal Government has
issued a certificate to the Auditor-General stating that disclosure of the information would be contrary to the public
interest for any of the reasons setting out in article 38 of this Law.
Article 38:
For the purpose of the article 37 of this Law, the following
reasons shall be treated as information that
would be contrary to the public interest:
(a) It would prejudice the security, defense,
sovereignty, or international relations of the Kingdom of Cambodia
(b) It would prejudice the commercial interest of
any legal entity or person.
Article 39:
In reference to the article 37 of this Law, the Auditor-General
decides:
(a) Not to prepare the report to be released for the
public
(b) To withhold the detailed information in the
report to be released for the public.
However, the Auditor-General shall
include the detailed information in the
article 37 of this Law in the report to be submitted to the National
Assembly, the Senate or other relevant ministries.
CHAPTER 8
Audit
on the National Audit Authority
Article 40:
In case of necessity, on the
proposition of the Finance and Banking Commission of the National Assembly, the
Permanent Committee, on behalf of the National Assembly, has the right to
select special auditors to review the activities and operations of the National
Audit Authority.
CHAPTER 9
The
Establishment of Internal Audit
Article 41:
An internal audit shall be established within each
institution, ministry and public enterprise. The internal audit shall report to
the head of each institution, ministry and public enterprise and shall submit its report and conclusion to the National
Audit Authority. The procedures for the organizing and
functioning of the internal audit shall be determined by sub-decree.
Article 42:
The function of internal audit is to
independently examine and evaluate the effectiveness on the implementation of
the internal control system
within institutions, ministries and public enterprises.
Article 43:
An internal control system is the means of the Royal Government established
by the management of the institutions,
ministries and public enterprises in order to provide reasonable assurances
which regard to the following:
(a) Effectiveness of operations
(b) Reliability of financial reports
(c)
Compliance with the applicable laws, regulations,
policies, procedures and implementation arrangements.
CHAPTER 10
Penalties
Article 44:
Regardless of other possible penalties, any person who violates the article 31
or 33 of this Law shall be liable to a fine from 1,000,000 (one million) Riels
to 5,000,000 (five million) Riels or be imprisoned for a term from 1 (one) to 3
(three) months or be liable to both fine and imprisonment.
Article 45:
Regardless of other possible penalties, any person who violates an article 34 of
this Law shall be liable to a fine up to 5,000,000 (five million) Riels or more
or be imprisoned for a term from 1 (one) to 5 (five) years or be liable to both
fine and imprisonment.
CHAPTER 11
Final
Provisions
Article 46:
Any provision
contrary to this Law shall be abrogated.
Article 47:
This Law is promulgated urgently.
ROYAL KRAM
NS/RKM/1100/1
We,
Preah Bat
Samdech Norodom Sihanouk,
The King of
the Kingdom of
Cambodia,
PROMULGATE
The Law on Additional
Law to the Law on Audit of the Kingdom of Cambodia was enacted by the National
Assembly on July
25, 2000 at its fourth plenary session of the second legislature
and approved by the Senate on all of its forms and legal concepts on August 09, 2000
at its third plenary session of the first legislature and was examined and
decided to be conformed with the Constitution by the Constitutional Council,
except the provision at the first sentence of the article 1, and is entirely
stated as follow:
Law
on
Additional Law to the Law on Audit of the Kingdom of
Cambodia
Article 1:
Added
to the article 40 in Chapter 8 of the Law on Audit of the Kingdom of Cambodia,
promulgated
by Royal Kram No. CS/RKM/0300/10 dated March 03, 2000 as follows:
Article 40:
In
case of necessity, on the proposition of the Permanent Committee of the National Assembly, the
National Assembly may decide to establish a special commission to review the
activities and operations of the National Audit Authority.
Article 2:
This Law is promulgated urgently.
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