Press Release No. <a name="P16_75"></a>04/19

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has completed a review of procedures for cooperation with auditing institutions of the Fund's member countries adopted in February 2001, and has agreed that a further review should be completed no later than January 31, 2007.

The procedures adopted by the Executive Board established the steps through which requests are met to cooperate with investigating agencies in their preparation of reports on the IMF and its activities. The procedures include stipulations that inquiries must be channeled through an Executive Director's office, and that IMF management and staff are given an opportunity to review reports prior to their publication to ascertain that no confidential information is being disclosed and that the information contained in the report is factually correct. Additionally, the procedures require that the views of IMF management and staff are included in the final reports by members' auditing institutions.

The conclusion drawn from the Executive Board review of the procedures is that they appear to be working well. Resource costs have been manageable, although there may be budgetary implications if there are numerous further requests for cooperation on investigations. This issue will be reevaluated in the context of the next review of the procedures.