Article 20 of the Saudi Financial Control Law

This article deals with a practical question: may an entity refuse to let the financial controller see a document on the ground that it is confidential? The answer in the text: financial controllers have the right to see confidential documents at the entity.

But this right is subject to two limits:

• The limits needed for the work: access is within the limits that enable them to do their work. The right is tied to the needs of the control work; it is not unlimited access to everything the entity holds.
• The Implementing Regulations' rules: access is in accordance with the rules stated in the Implementing Regulations; the article does not set out these rules.

This article works together with other provisions:

• Article 15 makes it one of the entity's responsibilities to allow financial controllers to see all related documents, data and observations in accordance with the Law and the Implementing Regulations, except what relates to the report-based control method.
• Article 19 requires the financial controller to maintain confidentiality. His seeing a confidential document does not mean disclosing it; he remains bound to keep it confidential.

The reason is that financial control may require examining documents classified as confidential, and if confidentiality were a bar to access, control would be disabled. In return, the duty of confidentiality protects the entity's interest.

Article 21 follows, which allows an incentive reward to be given to the financial controller. Anyone working in an entity that is asked to let a financial controller see confidential documents and who needs to know the limits of this can consult a lawyer specialized in administrative cases.