Project RAB/01/006: TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY

IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR IN THE ARAB REGION

Financial Management Survey

(Draft: 14/02/03 13:40)

Country Name:

Please answer the following from a scale of 1 – 5 where:

1 = always 2=frequently 3=sometimes 4=rarely 5=never
or “Don’t Know.”

TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY IN FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

Information for this section should be available from the finance ministry or the treasury,
public procurement or tendering boards, and other public finance or procurement experts.

General Financial Controls

1. Are financial controls exercised through:

• high visibility? 1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know
• continued emphasis on probity? 1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know
• good example set by senior officers? 1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know
• supervision over the opening and operation of
all bank accounts? 1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know
• systematic training of financial officers on their
accountability? 1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know
• rotation or transfer of financial officers? 1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know
• other means (please specify)? 1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know
________________________

comments on any of the above:

Budgets

2. Are overall government budgets followed:

• generally observing rules?
(e.g. on supplementary appropriations, transfers, etc.) 1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know
• by documenting yearly the actual revenues and expenditures (after authorized
revisions) at each level of responsibility? 1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know
• based on commitment accounting
to ensure expenditures do not exceed budgets? 1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know

comments on any of the above:

Revenue

3. Is revenue collection based on:

• impartially implemented tax laws?
(e.g. without political interference, ethnic bias, kinship etc.) 1 2 3 4 5
Don’t Know
• recourse to effective appeals procedures?
(e.g. adjudicated fairly and without delay) 1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know
• a separation of key functions?
(e.g. assessment, collection and accounting) 1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know

1
• a regular independent reconciliation of
revenue cash books with bank statements? 1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know
• a follow-up of differences between cash books
and bank statements? 1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know
• up-to-date records of revenue arrears? 1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know
• regular reporting of revenue arrears
to the ministry of finance? 1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know

comments on any of the above:

Payroll

4. Does the payroll require:

• independent verifications? (e.g. payroll calculations, amounts and reconciliation with
the previous period) 1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know
• a physical identification of all personnel on the payroll? (e.g. by supervisors where
payments are made in cash, or by controls over employee identification numbers in a
computerized system) 1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know

comments on any of the above:

Procurement
5. Overall, is procurement based on:
• staff with adequate experience and skills in materials management and procurement?
1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know
• standardized documents? (e.g. contracts for goods and services and purchase orders
for shopping) 1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know
• contracts awarded by public competitive bidding?1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know
• sufficient time allowed to obtain documents, prepare and submit bids?
1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know
• contracts awarded to the responsive and qualified bidder with the lowest evaluated
cost and without further negotiation? 1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know

comments on any of the above:

6. To assist in the preparation of responsive bids, do instructions to bidders include:

• eligibility requirements? 1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know
• the basis of bid? 1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know
• the language and currency of bid? 1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know
• the source and date of the exchange rate to be used?
1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know
• the deadline and place for the receipt of bids and the opening of bids?
1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know
• the evaluation criteria? 1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know

comments on any of the above:

7. Do procuring agencies keep:

• public advertisements? 1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know
• pre-qualification documents? 1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know
• evaluation reports (if used)? 1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know
• bidding documents and addenda? 1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know
• record of any pre-bid meetings? 1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know
• the bid opening minutes? 1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know

2
• the final bid evaluation report? 1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know
• copies of bids, appeals, signed final contracts? 1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know
• performance securities issued? 1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know
• any other communications to and from bidders? 1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know

comments on any of the above:

8. Are bids:
• kept unopened until the official opening? 1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know
• opened immediately after the deadline? 1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know
• opened in the attendance of representatives? 1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know
• read aloud? 1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know
• recorded at the time? 1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know
• rejected if late? 1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know

comments on any of the above:

9. Are the evaluation of bids:

• based solely on the criteria stated in the documents?
1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know
• normally completed within the original bid validity period?
1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know
• documented in reports containing a clear description of the evaluation process (e.g.
the reasons for rejecting any bid as ‘non-responsive’, how the evaluation criteria were
applied, and how the successful bidder’s qualifications were verified)?
1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know

comments on any of the above:

10. Once a contract has been awarded, is there monitoring to:

• oversee the delivery of goods and services? 1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know
• verify quantity, quality and timeliness? 1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know
• supervise the work by independent engineers? 1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know
• ensure completion of work on schedule and within the originally approved contract
price? 1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know
• handle disputes in accordance with contract conditions?
1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know
comments on any of the above:

11. Is there proper maintenance of:

• change and variation orders? 1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know
• invoices and payments? 1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know
• progress reports? 1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know
• certificates of inspection? 1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know
• acceptance and completion? 1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know
• records of claims and disputes and their outcome? 1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know

comments on any of the above:

Payments

12. Before payments are made, is there a check that:

• the service specified has been satisfactorily delivered? 1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know
• prices charged either accord with approved scales or are fair?

3
 1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know
• proper authority has been obtained for the expenditure?
1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know
• computations and costings have been verified and are arithmetically correct?
1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know
• the person named in the instrument is entitled to receive payment?
1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know
• stores purchased have been correctly received and put to use or taken on charge?
1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know
• total payments for the year to date are within the total authority to incur expenditure?
1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know
• made within a reasonable time from receipt of the claim?
1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know
comments on any of the above:

13. Is overspending:
• prevented (e.g. by central controls)? 1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know
• promptly detected? 1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know
• penalized? 1 2 3 4 5 Don’t Know

comments on any of the above:

S:\armstron\arabsppd\interviewguide\fmsurvey1.doc