UAE President issues decree-law to establish Accountability Authority

UAE’s President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed issued Federal Decree-Law No. 56 of 2023 on establishing the UAE Accountability Authority, which replaces the “Accountability Office” and directly follows the Head of State and aims to strengthen the control of public funds as it is the highest body for financial control, accounting, integrity, and transparency.

The Decree-Law regulates the various aspects of the contribution of the “Emirates Accounting Authority” with other authorities competent in the protection of public funds through the control of financial, accounting and operational activities in the entities controlled by the Authority and combating financial and administrative corruption and establishing general principles to enhance the management and detection of corruption risks, address its causes and hold perpetrators accountable; It also promotes and consolidates the principles of integrity, transparency, accountability and good governance in the Federal Government and the regulated bodies in order to enhance the State’s reputation and confidence in its financial and economic system.

The Authority’s terms of reference include auditing and expressing an opinion on the consolidated final account (financial statements) of the Government of the Federation, auditing and examining the separate annual financial statements collected by the entities subject to the control of the Agency, taking into account the laws and regulations establishing those entities, and assessing the efficiency and effectiveness of internal control systems for financial and operational statements and operations.

The terms of reference also include the development of the Supreme Policy on Integrity and Combating Financial and Administrative Corruption, which falls within the competence of the organ after its adoption by the Head of State, as well as verification of the compliance of the subjects with laws, legislation, regulations, policies, decisions, and governance rules relevant to the work of the organ for the purposes of auditing, reviewing performance and risks in the subjects, and examining the efficiency, effectiveness, and economy of their financial and operational activities.

The decree requires the heads of the supervised agencies and the relevant ministers to implement the results of the agency’s oversight work, observations, requests, and recommendations. It is also obliged to provide the agency with their responses to those observations, requests, and recommendations within a period not exceeding 30 days from the date of their notification.

The Authority’s terms of reference also include receiving, examining, and carrying out administrative investigations into complaints and reports of any aggression against the funds and property of the controlled entities, those relating to conflicts of interest, abuse of authority, or abuse of public office for the purpose of obtaining a private interest or to others, and in cases of disclosure of official data and information to those subject to which the Organ is exposed or informed.

The UAE’s Accountability Authority work also involves the application of a wide range of preventive measures, administrative investigation controls, financial disclosures, the identification of robust mechanisms for the protection of whistleblowers and witnesses, and public refund initiatives with full knowledge of financial and administrative irregularities. This also includes deciding on, refraining from, or making statements that may directly or indirectly affect a state’s financial reputation or damage its economic interests.

The Decree-Law granted the organ powers to enable it to exercise its competence. Most notably, censorship, auditing, and examination, and access to any documents, decisions, documents, data, information, reports, papers, electronic or manual records, or any electronic systems of the subjects financial statements, and to consult the external auditors’ working papers on auditing the financial statements, it also granted access to electronic systems and programs in entities subject to the assessment of the degree of protection and integrity of its official information, data, and records and the entities and individuals dealing with them, in coordination and cooperation with other relevant authorities.

The Decree establishes procedures for the disposition of an administrative investigation, whereby the organ shall inform the authority under its control or the competent authority concerned with the offense to impose the disciplinary sanction on the offender from employees or public servants and to recover the public funds illegally obtained by the offender and to compensate for the damages caused. Decisions to act shall be communicated to the organ within 15 days from the date of the notification.

The procedure also includes the transfer of administrative investigation papers to the competent prosecutor’s office when the investigation reveals a suspicion of criminal offense, without prejudice to disciplinary responsibility. The Anti-Corruption Procedure Regulation regulates the provisions and controls for the disposal of administrative investigations.

The Decree-Law authorizes the granting of moral or material incentive remuneration to any person who has provided material information leading to the discovery of an offense of financial and administrative corruption.

The Decree sets out the procedures for exemption or recommendation for commutation of sentences for anyone who has been reported by collaborators or partners in financial and administrative corruption prior to its disclosure and leaves them to maintain the administrative investigation when a settlement is reached with any person who has committed a financial or administrative offense and the settlement results in the recovery of the public money under administrative investigation. He provided information of interest to the public and cooperated with government agencies in this regard.