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Stemming largely from the historical and structural weaknesses of Colombia’s governance system, mismanagement and lack of effective control of public resources have hampered Colombia's socioeconomic progress. A solid integrity system that offers inclusive policies and effective public services and mitigates the risks of corruption is essential to consolidate the rule of law and to reduce poverty and inequality. The COVID-19 crisis has accentuated several of these challenges and increased the relevance of effective and efficient management and control.
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The role of supreme audit institutions (SAIs) has gradually expanded beyond traditional fiscal control. In particular, SAIs can provide critical evidence on what works and what does not work in public governance, and thus inform and promote substantial improvements in public management whilst responding to a crisis of trust in many countries and increasingly complex socioeconomic contexts.
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This chapter presents the regulatory developments with regard to preventive and concomitant fiscal control in Colombia. It explores its functionalities and opportunities, including the added value that it can give in relation to the identification of risks within public administration. This chapter highlights the importance of continuing to clearly communicate the difference between ex ante control and the new preventive and concomitant control as well as to clarify the difference between alerts and warnings.
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This chapter presents the opportunities and challenges of the implementation of the new preventive and concomitant control, particularly in relation to its internal governance, the role played by the different dependencies of the Office of the Comptroller General and the cultural change needed for the development of this new tool. In particular, it highlights the challenges of internal co-ordination, data use and analytics as well as opportunities to leverage processes such as performance audits and sectorial studies.
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This chapter identifies challenges and opportunities to ensure appropriate co-ordination between the external control and the internal and social control. In particular, it analyses how preventive and concomitant control can be better used as a tool to support the public administration, including through the relationship and feedback provided to fiscal managers and as an additional source of information for the public administration in the management of corruption risks.
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This chapter offers a long-term vision for fiscal control in Colombia. It focuses on how such a vision could help ensuring the co-ordination and continuity of preventive and concomitant control in Colombia. In particular, co-ordination mechanisms as well as planning and policy tools such as the National Development Plan (NDP), the National Moralisation Commission (CNM), the Regional Moralisation Commissions (CRM) and others can contribute to the strengthening and continuity of preventive and concomitant control.
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To facilitate discussions in the Office of the Comptroller General based on this report and its recommendations, the following table provides an overview of the actions proposed in the different chapters. Some recommended actions could be implemented in the short term and under the direct control of the Office of the Comptroller General, others may require a dialogue at the State level as well as legislative changes and could be considered as objectives in the medium or long term.