3.2 Compliance Control Mechanisms
Compliance control mechanisms cover all the different methods and processes oversight institutions can resort to in order to supervise and check compliance with political finance regulations. Depending on the legislation in force in your country, your institution’s remit may encompass some or all tasks described and explained in the sub-headings of this section, i.e. supervision and monitoring, preparation of reporting templates, receipt and review of statutory reports, handling of complaints, and audits. It may also appear that other institutions are vested with some of these tasks in instances where the political finance remit is split between at least two bodies. Depending on the country’s political finance legislation and the oversight institution’s remit, regulators may have different sources of information at their disposal to carry out their oversight tasks:
- Matters raised by campaign/ field monitors in their monitoring reports submitted to the oversight body throughout the campaign;
- Requests, complaints and allegations filed with the oversight body;
- Information contained in election campaign finance reports and political party annual financial reports and issues identified by the oversight body when reviewing the returns;
- Auditors or chartered accountant’s reports;
- Matters identified by the oversight body ex officio; and
- Matters referred to the oversight body by another public institution.
Compliance control mechanisms must be conducted in accordance with the oversight body’s internal procedures that should set out the successive phases to undertake as regards the administrative and procedural review process from the preparation of reporting templates to the receipt and recording of financial reports (and complaints), the review/ audit of statutory report and the issuance of decisions.