His Excellency Dr. Hussam Abdulmohsen Alangari
Chairman of the Arab Confederation for Institutes of Internal Auditors (ARABCIIA)
H.E. Dr. Hussam bin Abdulmohsen Alangari is the President of the General Court of Audit (GCA) of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. H.E. Dr. Alangari was appointed by the Royal Decree on May 7, 2016, and his term of service was extended by another Royal Decree on March 23, 2020. H. E. Dr. Alangari oversees and manages the GCA functions related to post-auditing on the state’s revenues, expenditures, and auditing fixed and current assets to ensure proper utilization and preservation of the state’s resources. He also oversees the preparation of the GCA’s Annual Report, which includes the results of the financial, compliance, and performance audits, and has the honor to submit it to the King. H. E. Dr. Alangari chairs the board of directors of the Saudi Institute of Internal Auditors, based on a Royal Decree issued in November 2020.
Internationally, H. E. Dr. Alangari has been reappointed as Second Vice-Chair of the Governing Board of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI). Based on this appointment, H. E. Dr. Alangari has also held the position of Chairmen of the Policy, Finance and Administration Committee (PFAC), and Co-Chair of the INTOSAI-Donor Steering Committee (IDSC) jointly with the representative of the donors (i.e. World Bank). Furthermore, H.E. Dr. Alangari was appointed as a member of the Board of Directors of the International Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) for a two-year term starting on July 2022 and was, also, named as the Liaison Officer for the Board’s international support efforts.
Regionally, H. E. Dr. Alangari held the position of the Second Vice-Chairman of the Arab Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (ARABOSAI) by the Decision of the General Assembly taken on November 2019. Thereupon, H. E. Dr. Alangari will be chairing ARABOSAI for a three-year term starting in 2022 during the 14th General Assembly which was held in Jeddah during October 2022. Moreover, GCA was recently elected to the membership of the Governing Board of the Asian Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (ASOSAI) during the 15th General Assembly of the Organization held via teleconference in September 2021.
During H. E. Dr. Alangari’s presidency of GCA, many Royal Decrees, Council of Ministers Resolutions, Ministerial Approvals, and Directives relating to the development of GCA’s performance and organizational structure were issued, including:
- The Royal Decree issued on August 2, 2020, by which the previous name of the GCA (i.e. General Auditing Bureau) was amended, and full financial and administrative independence, as well as a direct link to the King, were granted to the GCA.
- The Royal Decree was issued November 2020 by which the GCA became the supervisory entity of the Saudi Institute of Internal Auditors, and the President of GCA was appointed the chair of its board of directors.
- The Royal Decree issued on August 7, 2017, by which auditing the implementation of the privatization programs with continuous and direct supervision and follow-up thereof was added to the GCA mandate.
- The Royal Approval, which was delivered by His Excellency, the President of the Royal Court, dated June 9, 2019, to include performance and compliance auditing relating to Sustainable Development Goals’ requirements in the GCA mandate and methodology.
- The Council of Ministers’ Resolution was issued on September 17, 2019, to include monitoring and inspection of government warehouses, and the development and update of government warehouse rules and procedures in the GCA mandate.
- The two Royal Decrees issued on August 31, 2017, and November 21, 2018, respectively, approving an annual donation from the GCA to INTOSAI to sponsor the implementation of the Oversight Program for the Sustainable Development Goals in cooperation with the INTOSAI Development Initiative (IDI).
- The Royal Decree issued on October 31, 2019, to approve the allocation of an annual financial grant for the implementation of several programs to support the supreme audit institutions in developing countries (i.e. the Saudi Fund for improved SAI Performance, Saudi FISP).
- Several Council of Ministers’ Resolutions were issued to approve several memoranda of understanding (MoUs) between the GCA and several peer Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) in several countries in the field of accounting, auditing, and professional affairs.
- The approval of the (former) Civil Service Employees Training and Scholarship Committee at the Ministry of Civil Service dated June 5, 2018, to establish the “Saudi Center for Financial and Performance Audit” at the GCA as a specialized training center.
- The approval of His Excellency, the Minister of Media dated June 1, 2018, to issue of the scientific journal, (i.e. the Journal of General Court of Audit).
At the digital transformation sphere, H. E. Dr. Alangari introduced several platforms and E-Systems, including the E-Audit System (Shamel), by which GCA is automatically linked with auditees to carry out financial, compliance, and performance audits, inaugurated on December 13, 2016; Wathiqa Platform, as a digital library for government’s documents and archives, launched on April 1, 2019; as well as several internal E-Systems, including the Methodology System, unveiled on May 1, 2019, and the Preservation of Public Fund System introduced on February 18, 2020. H. E. H. E. Dr. Alangari issued a decree on March 3, 2019, to establish the Cyber Security Department to protect the network and electronic systems of the GCA according to the approved cyber security basic requirements. H. E. H. E. Dr. Alangari issued also issued another decree to establish the Digital Transformation Unit to supervise the technical plans and projects of GCA.
At the professional and institutional capacity building sphere, H. E. Dr. Alangari has approved the updated GCA’s Strategic Plan on May 16, 2017, and the GCA’s Professional Methodology on May 2, 2019. H. E. Dr. Alangari also has approved several GCA Professional Standards and Guidelines in line with the requirements of the INTOSAI Standards. During his term of service at the GCA, the current headquarters building in Riyadh was inaugurated on January 29, 2018, and also the new buildings of the GCA’s branches in all regions of the Kingdom were inaugurated on different dates. Furthermore, female staff members specialized in accounting and law were recruited to work in various departments at the GCA headquarters and branches. H. E. Dr. Alangari has approved the new corporate identity of GCA on September 6, 2020. Moreover, H. E. Dr. Alangari on May 19, 2019, approved the Standards and Regulations of Audit of Privatization and the new Rules and Regulations of Government Warehouses after being developed and updated in response to the Council of Ministers Resolution No.: (51) dated August 31, 2019. The Resolution was circulated to government entities on May 31, 2021. Furthermore, H. E. Dr. Alangari issued another decree on December 29, 2021, to establish the Office of Strategic Management to organize strategic management activities and coordinate efforts between the sectors of GCA to enhance the efficiency of performance and apply the best practices in management and governance. Additionally, H. E. Dr. Alangari has approved the Strategic Plan of GCA for the period (2022-2026)
Before he was appointed the President of the General Court of Audit, H. E. Dr. Alangari went through two main stages: the first stage was his academic and leadership career at King Abdulaziz University (KAU), where he progressed in the academic work at the Accounting Department in the Faculty of Economics and Administration (FEA) at KAU, from a Lecturer in 1991 to an Assistant Professor in 2000, after he received his Ph.D. in Accounting and Financial Management from Essex University in the United Kingdom. He then was promoted to the rank of Associate Professor in 2004, and subsequently, in 2008 he was promoted to the position of Full Professor, based on his impressive record of research in the fields of accounting and auditing, which included over fifty research papers, articles, and monographs, both in English and Arabic, as well as three editions of his textbook “Auditing in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia” and one edition of his other book “Who Takes to Account the Certified Public Accountants!?”, and his remarkable engagements and participation in the regional and international conferences, symposia and workshops in the fields of accounting and auditing in particular.
During his academic career at KAU, H. E. Dr. Alangari held the position of Vice Dean for Postgraduate Studies and Scientific Research at FEA for four years since 2005. H. E. Dr. Alangari was then appointed as Dean of the same faculty in 2009 for four years, and during the same period, he was appointed as an Acting-Dean of the Faculty of Law at KAU.
H. E. Dr. Alangari has been instrumental in improving the rating of FEA, during the period he was the dean, and hence that of the university. It’s largely to his credit that FEA was able to accomplish the international institutional accreditation standards and requirements and witnessed a remarkable qualitative improvement in its academic programs and research. During the same period, H. E. Dr. Alangari has led the FEA to establish the first digital library in the Kingdom, organize the 1st Academic Conference on National Economy, and the two continuous academic seminars (i.e. “Monthly Academic Gathering” and “on the Academic Debating Table”), and to transfer the Law Department into the Faculty of Law, and the Islamic Economics Center into the Institute of Islamic Economics, and to establish several academic Research Chairs.
The second stage that H. E. Dr. Alangari went through before the issuance of the Royal Decree appointing him as President of the GCA, following his journey at KAU, is his membership in the Saudi Shura Council. He joined the Council based on a Royal Decree issued on January 11, 2013, to be a member of the Council for four years, during which he was appointed the Vice-Chair for the Financial Committee for the first two years, and the Chair of the Financial Committee for the third and fourth year. During the period he worked for the Shura Council, H. E. Dr. Alangari has submitted five proposals to issue new laws and amend enacted laws based on Article no. 23 of the Shura Council’s Law.