Article 18 of the Saudi Central Bank Law

This article regulates the external auditor of the Central Bank's accounts, in three paragraphs:

Paragraph 1: who is he?

• One or more external auditors.
• He must be technically qualified to a sufficient degree and experienced in the Bank's work.
• He is responsible to the Board and submits his reports to the Board directly.

Paragraph 2: limits of his work. His work is limited to auditing the Bank's accounts and financial statements, and he may not interfere in any way in the running of the Bank's business or touch its policies.

Paragraph 3: his powers.

• Reviewing the Bank's books, records and documents.
• Requesting all the data he considers necessary to carry out his work.
• If he cannot do so, he submits a report to the Board.

The article balances two things: enabling the auditor to reach everything he needs for the audit, and preventing him from going beyond auditing into interfering in business or policies. It does not set the auditor's term of appointment or his fees.

Paragraph 2 is consistent with the preceding Article 17, which makes the Bank solely responsible for setting and implementing monetary policy and choosing its instruments. It is followed by Article 19, which sets out what the Bank does on behalf of the government at the request of the Minister of Finance or his delegate, such as opening and settling current accounts and holding deposits.