Digital Transformation of General Auditing Bureau with SHAMEL

• Analytics & Modeling - Machine Learning
• Analytics & Modeling - Predictive Analytics

• Electronics
• Transportation

• Maintenance
• Quality Assurance

• Inventory Management
• Leasing Finance Automation

• System Integration
• Training

Before the digital transformation, the General Auditing Bureau (GAB) of Saudi Arabia was dealing with a massive volume of paperwork. The data and documents associated with related governmental entities were collected and transferred manually, which was a complex and time-consuming process. This method of operation limited their performance quality and extent due to the need for a large number of auditors, the excess number of documents, and the complexity of the process in terms of transportation, room, and other risks. GAB was keen on implementing an electronic system to automate its business procedures, as part of the Saudi Vision 2030 for creating smart cities, the National Transformation Program 2020, and the strategic plan for the digital transformation of the General Auditing Bureau. GAB needed a solution to handle many manual tasks, fight corruption in public institutions, improve financial supervision, reduce the mismanagement of financial resources, and facilitate and accelerate the exchange of electronic documents and audit results.

The General Auditing Bureau (GAB) is the supreme audit institution in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It is responsible for the post-auditing of the state’s revenues, expenditures, movable and fixed assets. In addition, it exercises auditing control to ensure proper utilization and maintenance of the previously mentioned resources. GAB was one of the first entities to take the step towards digital transformation in line with the Saudi Vision 2030. It aimed to connect more than 1000 governmental and semi-governmental entities covered by GAB’s supervision with the Smart Electronic Auditing Platform, SHAMEL.

To address these challenges, Intalio experts designed SHAMEL, an electronic monitoring system, to complete the auditing work of the General Audit Bureau and facilitate the exchange of data and financial documents. SHAMEL was implemented in several phases. The first phase involved automating all auditing processes to reduce the number of auditors, save room, and perform better in less time. The second phase involved implementing SHAMEL connector and Capturing application at all agencies premises, which allowed them to link electronically into the system and enable sharing all financial documents and data. The third phase involved SHAMEL Big Data and Analytics, which allowed the General Auditing Bureau to store a massive amount of financial data to be used in auditing and apply analytics on these data to get better auditing results. The fourth phase involved SHAMEL Electronic Support Platform, which provides technical and administrative support for the governmental entities. The future phases involve SHAMEL Raw Data Management and SHAMEL Smart Auditing platform, which will enable artificial intelligence and machine learning in the automated auditing processes.

• After the successful implementation of SHAMEL, GAB was able to achieve its objectives in improving and automating the services and procedures of the operations between them and entities under their control. SHAMEL solved larger issues that were pulling GAB behind. It allowed GAB to manage and organize the data and records of the entities in addition to the exchange of data and documents necessary for the audit process completion. Document management and archiving were done as per the security standards while keeping working papers linked to the entire process of review, reporting, and responses. SHAMEL provided work programs for auditors and managed their implementation across the system with indicators and statistics for audit results. The platform includes an electronic library and e-learning center which provide all the needed materials related to SHAMEL.

• Almost 600 entities are linked today, with plans to reach all the 992 entities in the near future.
• Total amounts claimed by the Bureau during the year and still under follow-up with concerned entities have reached more than SR66 billion, an increase of 78% compared to last year.
• More than 550 government agencies have already been linked, an increase of 170% over the previous year.