Article 46 of the Saudi Law of Universities

This article regulates government oversight of the final account of the university.

It contains three elements:

• The reviewing body: the General Auditing Bureau.
• The subject of the review: the university's final account.
• The rules applied: the rules for supervising public companies and institutions.

Note that the text chose to apply to the university the rules for supervising public companies and institutions. This article does not set out the content of those rules; knowing them requires referring to them.

The final account shows the actual result of implementing the budget during the year. Article 45 provides that each university has an independent annual budget adopted by decision of the Board of Trustees under the general rules approved by the Universities Affairs Council, after coordination with the relevant bodies. The two articles together cover the university's financial cycle: approval at the start and review at the end.

Alongside this government oversight, Article 47 provides that the Board of Trustees, on the nomination of the university president, appoints one or more external auditors of the university's accounts who meet the statutory conditions, who have the rights of an external auditor in joint-stock companies and are subject to his duties, without prejudice to the oversight of the competent body. The university is therefore subject to two kinds of oversight: that of the General Auditing Bureau and the review of the external auditor.

The article is organizational and does not give individuals direct rights, but it shows that the university's funds are subject to oversight by a competent government body.