BPKP preparing bill to ensure audit independency<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The Development Finance Comptroller (BPKP) is
\npreparing a draft law to ensure greater independency in its audit
\nwork over state-owned enterprises and government budgetary
\nspending, the agency's senior executive said on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Head of the agency's research and development, S. Heroetomo,
\nsaid that the internal audit agency needed to be more independent
\nand be given authority to speak directly to the public about what
\nit finds and does during its work.<\/p>\n
\"If the bill is approved, the auditing process will be more
\nefficient and the agency will have the power to monitor the
\nhandling of fraud or malfeasance discovered during the audit,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
He said the agency's main task at present was limited only to
\nauditing state institutions and budget spending, while follow-ups
\nof its findings were handled by institutions where the findings
\nwere found.<\/p>\n
He said that the draft law, which should be approved by the
\nPresident before being submitted to the House of Representatives
\n(DPR), would become an important legal instrument because under
\nit, all findings of malfeasance would be firmly dealt with.<\/p>\n
Under the draft legislation, the internal audit agency would
\nalso be allowed to announce its findings to the public, he said.<\/p>\n
Heroetomo said that people in general were still thinking that
\nBPKP was not doing anything against corruption in the country.
\n\"They think so because they were never informed of BPKP
\nactivities, he added.<\/p>\n
\"BPKP has a bad image because there is no transparency on what
\nwe are doing or have done during operations to fight against
\ncorruption,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said that BPKP worked on finding cases of irregularities
\nand malfeasance involving state wealth. But the agency could not
\nannounce these findings directly to the public, he added.<\/p>\n
The findings were instead submitted to the related government
\ninstitution or the Attorney General's Office (for corruption
\ncases).<\/p>\n
He said that it was up to the related government institution
\nor the Attorney General's Office to follow up on the reports.<\/p>\n
From its establishment, based on 1983 Presidential Decree No.
\n15, until March 1997, BPKP found irregularities and malfeasance
\nworth Rp 12.28 trillion.<\/p>\n
\"About 60 percent of our findings between 1983 and 1997 were
\nfollowed up by the parties where the findings were found,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Heroetomo rejected, however, to give recent figures in BPKP
\naudit reports between March 1997 and April 1999.<\/p>\n
BPKP deputy chairman Soekardi Hoesodo said the statistics
\nshowed that at least ten percent of the 4 million Indonesian
\ncivil servants were corrupt.<\/p>\n
Corruption was done, he said, by at least two people and
\ncontained a mutual benefit principle, even though it was at the
\nstate's expense. (udi)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/bpkp-preparing-bill-to-ensure-audit-independency-1447893297",
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