September 10, Kuwait (BNA): The Kingdom of Bahrain’s delegation to the 22nd Meeting of Their Excellencies the Heads of Financial and Accounting Audit Bureaus of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) States, which was hosted in the State of Kuwait, was led by Shaikh Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, Auditor General of the National Audit Office (NAO).
Auditor General leads Bahrain’s delegation at 22nd GCC Finance and Accounting Bureaus Meeting
In order to support the relationships that the GCC leaders have built, Shaikh Ahmed bin Mohammed emphasized the significance of bolstering cooperative GCC efforts to accomplish shared aims.
With an emphasis on information technology, digital transformation, and artificial intelligence—all of which have become crucial requirements across all fields and sectors—Shaikh Ahmed bin Mohammed emphasized the importance of continuing to train and develop staff members in the auditing and oversight sector.
The 26th meeting of the Undersecretaries of the Financial and Accounting Audit Bureaus in the GCC Countries was conducted on July 30. The recommendations of that meeting were approved by the GCC Secretary General, Jasem Mohammed Albudaiwi, who attended the meeting. These included a report from the Kingdom of Bahrain’s National Audit Office detailing the findings and suggestions of the strategic plan (2023–2025) and the proposed training strategy (2026–2028).
The results of the sixth GCC competition in audit and accounting research and studies, the UAE Accountability Authority’s proposal regarding the governance of the GCC Secretariat General’s external audit mechanism, and the draft regulations for the Award of Excellence in the GCC Audit and Accounting Bureaus were also presented to the participants.
The proposal to rename the Audit Rules Working Group as the Technical Committee of Audit and Accounting Institutions in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) States, a proposed impact measurement form for applying the guidelines issued by the GCC Secretariat General, a simplified form for using these guidelines in oversight work, and the proposal to establish a GCC Audit and Accounting Week were also discussed at the meeting.
The participants also went over the recommendations from the 25th meeting of the Audit Rules Working Group, which included instructions for relevant units to spread knowledge about using GCC guidelines in audit work, establishing an electronic platform with artificial intelligence support in collaboration with the Secretariat General, and connecting the websites of member state audit bureaus with the Secretariat’s digital library.
Proposals for collaborative training programs and workshops among member state audit bureaus were also discussed at the meeting. These initiatives aim to improve staff proficiency in applying audit rules, foster regional collaboration, and exchange experience.
The Secretariat General’s report on training programs conducted in 2024 and 2025, together with the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the King Fahd National Library, were shared with the attendees.
