Article 11 of the Saudi Financial Control Law

This article defines the role of the Ministry of Finance as a supporter, not merely an overseer, of a government entity that applies self-control. The means of support are:

• Providing appropriate support; the article does not specify its form.
• Issuing the guidance and instructions it sees fit; issuing them here is discretionary, as the Ministry sees fit.
• Responding to inquiries from government entities.

The purpose stated in the text is to develop the internal control systems of government entities. Under Article 1, internal control systems are the policies and procedures carried out by the entity to ensure that it achieves its strategic objectives and to provide reasonable assurance as to operational efficiency, financial reliability and compliance with laws and regulations.

This article completes the picture of self-control in Chapter Three:

• Article 9: the Ministry assesses the entity's internal control, information and governance systems, and applies self-control partly or fully depending on the results.
• Article 10: where self-control is fully applied, the entity carries out the legal requirements assigned to the financial controller.
• This article: the Ministry supports the entity in doing so.

This role is consistent with one of the objectives of the Law in Article 2, namely achieving effective control and helping the entity strengthen its internal control systems. Article 12 follows, which begins the provisions on digital control. Anyone working in a government entity who needs to understand how to benefit from the Ministry's support can consult a lawyer specialized in administrative cases.