As can be seen, the process for the emergence of a governing structure of the Audit and Audit activity has been gradual and based on the accumulated experience.
The State Finance Committee was in operation with that name until April 21, 1994, when the Ministry of Finance and Prices was created by Decree Law No. 147 of the Executive Committee of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Cuba, with the objective of the reorganization of the Central State Administration Organizations.
When the Ministry of Finance and Prices was created, the National Audit Office (ONA) had not been conceived as a Supreme Audit Body, but its creation was based on the sum of technical-economic criteria very well founded by the economists of The Verification Directorate of the newly created Ministry of Finance and Prices, as evidenced by the ONA project that, with its argument, was presented by the Verification Directorate of the same, just two months after the new ministry was created.
Towards the end of the 80s, international and national events occur that will necessarily have a great impact on the activity of the audit and other control actions in Cuba. The fact of the fall of the socialist camp, with the Soviet Union as Cuba's main trading partner based on economic relations of cooperation and mutual aid, forced the Cuban State to seek other horizons in the field of economics and commercial relations with the capitalist camp , which forced to look for other types of economic associations.
At the national level, the decriminalization of the dollar and its incursion into transactions in the wholesale and retail sector also turned around in the Cuban economy. With this new panorama, the audit and other control actions had their legal support with Resolution No. 44-90 of the State Finance Committee, which was in force until June 8, 1995, when it was replaced by Decree Law No. 159 of the Audit. This gave greater authority to the activity and greater legal support; It also left the expedited path for reorganizations and how many changes, variants or adjustments were made to make the audit work more efficient and effective.
On May 30, 1995, the Executive Committee of the Council of Ministers, through Agreement No. 2914, approved the creation of the National Audit Office (ONA), attached to the Ministry of Finance and Prices and in June of that same year approved Decree Law No. 159 “On Auditing”, which declared as a fundamental task of the State the strengthening of the economic and administrative control of the entities. The Decree Law proposed the use of prevention and rescue of discipline and responsibility, as well as the achievement of transparency of economic and accounting information. It was important from that moment and in the light of that document to verify the honesty of natural and legal persons in the administration of State resources.
In correspondence with the above, the ONA had to evaluate the control, use and destination of the State resources received by the entities, to control that these were used in the social objectives for which they were destined, such as: investments, grants, advantages , exemptions, authorizations to provide services, exercise a preferential activity of the State and other activities, in order to safeguard national heritage and economic efficiency; all with the support of legal legislation. In this way, Cuba was provided with control and verification mechanisms, to place it at the level and harmony of the international comptrollers, mainly in the Latin American area.
As a fundamental objective, the new structure should also organize and methodologically direct the audit in Cuba, establish the principles, rules and procedures for this activity. In addition, it was under its competence to guide and control the Central Internal Audit Units (UCAIs) of the State Central Administration Organizations (OACEs) and the Provincial Administration Councils (CAPs); It also had to maintain permanent advice and exercise technical supervision. It also had to dictate the work directives for the preparation of the annual audit plans.
The social function of the National Audit Office is summarized in the following objectives and general functions:
OBJECTIVES AND GENERAL FUNCTIONS
OBJECTIVES:
The National Audit Office (ONA) is created to carry out the functions assigned in relation to the audit assigned to the Ministry of Finance and Prices, through subsection 13 of the agreement No. 2819 of the Executive Committee of the Council of Ministers of November 25, 1994; In addition to the objectives that under this specific audit legislation were conferred on this body, through which it corresponds to the leading role of such matter throughout the country.
Based on the reference OBJECTIVES, the following FUNCTIONS are specified:
1.- To exercise the superior control, for which the external audit will be carried out to the entities of the state sector to the cooperatives, organizations, associations, as well as to any natural or legal person that receives resources from the state, for their investment or financing, benefit from subsidies, subsidies, advantages or exemptions or that provide services or exercise a preferential activity of the State.
Within the framework of that FUNCTION:
1.1.- Develop management audits, financial or special in hierarchical economic objectives, within or outside the national territory, issuing the corresponding recommendations, presenting the reports to the competent authorities and requesting the necessary measures to solve the problems detected.
1.2- Increase attention to non-state companies, entities that in one way or another receive financing through the state budget and incorporate verification to missions abroad.
1.3- Evaluate the systems established in the audited entities, in order to determine the degree of control and reliability they offer.
2.- Complete the leading role of the audit throughout the country, establishing the principles, rules and other procedures that may be necessary on this matter.
3.- Guide the work of the internal audit units, directly or indirectly, and maintain permanent advice.
4.- Dictate the directives of work, advise the preparation and approve the Annual Audit Plan of the OACE and OLPP and propose or authorize the modifications.
5.- Exercise the technical supervision of the Audit Units of the OACE and OLPP.
6.- Control the work of the central audit units of the OACE and OLPP and publish the annual report of the work executed by the audit units.
7.- Prepare and keep updated the general programs and methodological guides for the different types of audits.
8.- To exercise the function of expertise at the request of the competent bodies.
9.- Present to the appropriate instances, and when the facts require it, the necessary documentation for decision-making, both administrative and criminal; and maintain due control until the conclusion of the relevant actions.
10- Apply sanctions in accordance with current legislation and in those cases within its jurisdiction, in case of violations of the established norms not constituting a crime.
11.- Perform the legal activities required in compliance with the audit activity.
12.- Provide legal advice to the Internal Audit Units of the OACE and OLPP of the central levels.
13.- Create and keep updated the Auditors Registry of the Republic of Cuba.
14.- Evaluate and respond to complaints, requests and claims received related to the audit work.
15.- Maintain close working links with other global factors in the fight against economic crime and for the improvement of control.
16.- Prepare the Training Plan for the Office staff and contribute to the training of the Audit personnel that correspond to this purpose.
To do this, maintain close working links with the country's universities and other institutions related to the audit activity.
17.- Attend and develop the working links within the framework of international organizations of the specialty such as INTOSAI, (International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions), OLACEFS (Latin American and Caribbean Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions) and related professional associations to the External and Internal Audit.
18.- Receive, evaluate, rule and propose to the Minister on the advisability of approving firms to develop the Independent Audit, and create and keep the corresponding registry updated.
19.- Propose to the Minister to recognize or deny the legal and formal capacity or authorize independent auditors' firms, and when it corresponds to independent auditors, to be accepted for all official purposes, the opinion that on the review of the Financial Statements of the contracting entities, issue.
20.- Establish and maintain regulations on the operation of independent auditors' firms.
21.- Exercise, when appropriate, supervision for the technical control of the work of these firms.
22.- To dictate the General Norms for the War Time Audit and to complete the tasks that derive from these.
23.- Operate as a budgeted unit attending to the functions inherent to it.
The National Audit Office was conceived with a central address in the capital, where the bodies of auditors would reside, and likewise would be established in the provinces. Its mission was to verify economic discipline with maximum transparency and quality of information; In addition to verifying the ability and honesty of natural and legal persons in the administration and control of their own resources or entrusted by the State.
One of the most significant characteristics of the National Audit Office in terms of its conception and organization is the constant purpose of undertaking an increasingly effective and efficient work to fulfill the role of its social functions, all of which is shown in the interest of its leading cadres to refine its structure more and more, without ceasing to carry out the control actions for which it was conceived. In this effort there were proposals for templates and functions of the structures that would make up the LAONA since 1994, then in 1996 and finally in 1997.
The National Audit Office was conceived with a central address in the capital, where the bodies of auditors would reside, and likewise would be established in the provinces. Its mission was to verify economic discipline with maximum transparency and quality of information; In addition to verifying the ability and honesty of natural and legal persons in the administration and control of their own resources or entrusted by the State.
After many proposals each time in search of a better functioning of the structure, the latest version of the Project for the organization of the National Audit Office was dated May 8, 1996. In June 1997 a reorganization of the office was proposed. , based on the dialectic itself and experience of the work deployed by the Office, given the increase in foreign capital investments, the increase in forms of economic associations, increasing circulation and transactions in currencies, its variants and with it the increase in manifestations of corruption all types. An example of this economic development related to currency and foreign capital is in the tourism, agricultural, industrial, specifically mining and extractive sectors such as oil, activities that are increasing in several territories and provinces of Cuba. For such powerful reasons, organizational changes were necessary, both in the number of auditors, and in the support force of methodological, control and administrative management.
The National Audit Office was conceived with a central address in the capital, where the bodies of auditors would reside, and likewise would be established in the provinces. Its mission was to verify economic discipline with maximum transparency and quality of information; In addition to verifying the ability and honesty of natural and legal persons in the administration and control of their own resources or entrusted by the State.
The reorganization project of the National Audit Office was conceived from 1997 to 2003, but the international events with national repercussions, and the dialectic of the development, of the audit work in Cuba, already claimed a higher body to deploy a work More effective and efficient. The creation of the ONA set the guidelines for further strengthening of the control activity, while different resolutions were passed within it that contributed to the strengthening of the internal audit and the role of the auditors. Important steps were also taken for the attention to the national system in matters of audit, control and control and there was a greater opening in the form of a system towards the development of the control and supervision activity in the provinces with the creation of the provincial control groups in the provinces Pinar del Río, Matanzas, Villa Clara, Sancti Spíritus, Cienfuegos, Ciego de Ávila, Camagüey, Santiago de Cuba, Holguín, Granma, Tunas, and Guantanamo.