Cft in an administrative court, but legal protection against instructions of the Kingdom Council of Ministers is available through appeals to the Crown (Kroonberoep).900 In case of chartered accountants employed at both ARC, SOAB and Cft, complaints may be filed at the Accountantskamer, the Dutch disciplinary institution which deals with complaints against individuals registered (not organisations). For accountants with similar qualifications, such as certified public accountants, similar disciplinary action is possible.901
Accountability (practice) Score: 50 TO WHAT EXTENT DO THE SUPREME AUDIT AND SUPERVISORY INSTITUTIONS (PUBLIC SECTOR) HAVE TO REPORT AND BE ANSWERABLE FOR THEIR ACTIONS IN PRACTICE?
Existing provisions to ensure ARC’s accountability are ineffective, in large part due to the fact that information reported by ARC is often available only several years after the reporting years. Accountability provisions for SOAB and Cft are generally implemented effectively in practice. In practice, ARC’s own annual reports are sent to the governor and Parliament as required, albeit, as mentioned, often with considerable delays. Although some improvement is to be seen, up to now ARC’s annual reports have always covered several years, in one case as much as the period of 1991 to 2006. These reports provide information on, among other things, ARC’s internal organisation, its audit activities and its outlook for the coming year. The annual reports usually also mention the results of ARC’s investigations.902 ARC also submits its financial information to the minister of finance as required. However, because up to now the country’s overall annual accounts only reach Parliament many years after the reporting year, accountability is hampered since immediate follow-up actions are made impossible.903 In addition, the regular process to allow those audited to react to objections formulated by ARC has recently run into practical difficulties because the Island territory of Curaçao ceased to exist and with it the formal body audited. Thus, drafts of some of its reports dealing with the island territory published after October 2010, could not be sent to government. 904 SOAB, as required, each year produces an annual report including an independently-audited financial statement and sends these documents to government. Similarly, each year Cft sends the minister of the interior and kingdom affairs the information required, including a financial statement which is audited through the regular Dutch auditing channels.905 So far, there has been one appeal to the Crown to challenge an instruction of the Kingdom Council of Ministers to the Curaçao
900
Kingdom Act, Articles 26 and 27. Cf. Bense, 2012. www.accountantskamer.nl [accessed 12 February 2013]. Also refer to Press notice Dutch Caribbean Accountants Association of 28 May 2012 (Persbericht Nederlands Antilliaanse Vereniging van Accountants), http://accountantcuracao.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/persbericht-van-de-nederlandsantilliaanse-vereniging-voor-accountants.pdf [accessed 12 February 2013]. 902 ARC, October 2012a: 17. 903 Also refer to the section Role. 904 See, for example, ARC, Report of objections and remarks on the annual account 2010 of the General Service of the island territory Curaçao (Curaçao: ARC, October 2012b), p.4. 905 Also refer to https://zoek.officielebekendmakingen.nl/kst-33240-IV-1.html [accessed 10 January 2013]. 901
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NATIONAL INTEGRITY SYSTEM ASSESSMENT CURAÇAO