2023-09-14 15:07:23
QUITO, Sept 13 (Reuters) – Ecuador obtained financing from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to hire an international auditing firm to help put the financial accounts of state oil company Petroecuador in order, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said on Wednesday.
The objective of the audit of Petroecuador’s balance sheets is to clarify and organize its accounts for the years 2019, 2020 and 2021, since the authorities had recognized that there was no adequate accounting.
In December 2022, Petroecuador said that no foreign company had submitted offers to audit its financial statements and had reported that it would declare that tender void.
However, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said in a statement on Wednesday that “the process for hiring an internationally recognized auditing firm” for Petroecuador has begun.
“Transparenting the financial situation of the country’s largest public company will improve economic and administrative management and generate better efficiency and profitability rates,” he added, without giving further details about the amount and financial conditions of the IDB loan.
The reference budget for the contracting will be 2.4 million dollars plus the Value Added Tax (VAT), according to the selection process data published by Petroecuador on its website.
The resources for the study of the oil company’s accounts will come from the Program to support the reform of public companies, which Ecuador had contracted with the IDB, the ministry added.
Petroecuador’s financial audit was part of a $6.5 billion credit agreement between the Andean country and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which concluded in December of last year.
(Reporting by Alexandra Valencia, Editing by Juana Casas)
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