Financial Scandals in Tunisia: A Decade of Transparency Failures
Twenty years after the adoption of the financial transparency law, the situation in Tunisia seems to have deteriorated rather than improved. The country has witnessed over ten financial scandals in the past decade, with 78% of auditors never being controlled and 96% never alerting the National Anti-Corruption Authority (INLUCC).
A Law that Has Failed to Deliver
In 2005, Tunisia took a significant step towards improving financial transparency by adopting a law inspired by international best practices. The law introduced measures such as collegial auditing, mandatory rotation of auditors, and the creation of audit committees. However, two decades later, the results are disappointing.
Fayçal Derbel, director of the Tunisian Corporate Governance Center (CTGE), is blunt in his assessment. Before 2005, there was only one major financial scandal, but since then, numerous scandals have occurred, including bank failures, airline collapses, and pyramid schemes that have affected tens of thousands of investors.
A Lack of Effective Application and Surveillance Culture
Derbel attributes the failure to the lack of effective application and surveillance culture. The CTGE conducted a survey of 120 professionals, including 60 accountants and 60 non-financial companies, which revealed significant dysfunctions.
- 78% of auditors have not been subject to any external control in the past three years.
- More than one-third of auditors have identified major weaknesses in internal control systems, but 96% have never reported any suspicious activity to the INLUCC.
- 41% of auditors have reported economic crimes to the prosecutor's office, but this has not led to any significant action.
Enterprises with Opaque Practices
The survey also revealed that companies often circumvent the spirit of the law. While 81% of companies use the National Register of Enterprises to publish their financial statements, and 89% use it to verify their partners, the selection of auditors remains problematic.
- Nearly half of companies choose auditors based on recommendations, rather than through a competitive process.
- Only 15% of companies respect the principle of auditor rotation, as required by law.
- Changes in auditors due to conflicts of interest are rare, affecting only 9% of respondents.
Refounding the System: Proposed Solutions
To address these issues, Derbel proposes a profound transformation of the system. He advocates for abandoning the "procedural" approach and instating a culture of collective responsibility. The current dispersed control system should be replaced by a centralized and coherent supervision system.
Some proposed measures include:
- Creating an independent supervisory body inspired by the American PCAOB (Public Company Accounting Oversight Board).
- Blocking the registration of companies without auditors in the National Register of Enterprises.
- Imposing strict academic and professional criteria for access to administrative positions.
Derbel concludes by calling for action to address these issues. Financial security should no longer be an "illusion" but a tangible and verifiable reality. The CTGE forum aims to launch this necessary reform to restore Tunisia's economic credibility.
