On 25 June 2026, an international conference on “The Role of Auditing in Protecting the Interests of the State and Business Entities”, dedicated to “Human Rights Day in Azerbaijan”, was held in Baku under the joint organization of the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Chamber of Auditors.

The event was organized in accordance with the objectives and principles of the “Human Rights Day in Azerbaijan”, approved by Order of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Mr. Ilham Aliyev, dated 18 June 2007.

Along with Azerbaijan, the conference was attended by representatives of government agencies, professional audit and accounting organizations, academic and educational institutions, auditors, experts and representatives of civil society institutions from Türkiye, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

The conference aimed to strengthen the role of the audit institution in protecting the interests of the state and business entities, assess the importance of audit activities in protecting human rights, ensuring transparency and accountability, combating corruption, strengthening economic security and safeguarding public interests, as well as to study international experience in this area and identify prospects for the development of professional cooperation among Turkic states.

At the opening ceremony of the conference, Sabina Aliyeva, Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and Vahid Novruzov, Chairman of the Chamber of Auditors of the Republic of Azerbaijan, delivered speeches on the important role of the audit institution in protecting human rights, ensuring the rule of law, transparent governance, accountability and safeguarding public interests. Their speeches emphasized that, as a result of the consistent and large-scale socio-economic, institutional and governance reforms implemented in the country in recent years under the leadership of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Mr. Ilham Aliyev, including the digitalization of public services, expansion of the digital transformation policy, introduction of innovative approaches to governance and promotion of the use of artificial intelligence technologies, significant achievements have been made in ensuring transparency, accountability and effective public administration, while reliable mechanisms have been established to strengthen trust in state-citizen relations. It was noted that digital tools and artificial intelligence-based solutions create additional opportunities to increase the flexibility of audit and control mechanisms, conduct more timely and risk-based analysis of data, improve the quality of decision-making processes and ensure more effective protection of public interests. In the modern era, auditing is no longer limited to the function of financial control, but serves as an important institutional tool contributing to the strengthening of the state’s economic security, protection of national interests, combating corruption, improving the business environment and ensuring reliable protection of human rights. The development of the audit institution is an important component of the successful implementation of the rule-of-law state, transparent governance, digital transformation and sustainable economic development strategy in the country.

Within the framework of the conference, Hayreddin Kurt, Chairman of the Public Oversight, Accounting and Auditing Standards Authority of Türkiye (KGK), delivered a presentation on “Human Rights from the Perspective of Türkiye’s Sustainability Standards”; Akan Arystan, Executive Director of the Chamber of Auditors of the Republic of Kazakhstan, on “Auditing in the Digital Economy as a Guarantee of Protecting the Interests of Audit Service Consumers”; Javidan Gorchiev, Head of the Monitoring Department on Equality and Non-Discrimination of the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of the Republic of Azerbaijan, on “The Ombudsman’s Activities in Ensuring the Right to Equality and Preventing Discrimination”; Nematulla Karimov, Chairman of the Council of the Chamber of Auditors of Uzbekistan, on “A Unified Audit Space of the Turkic States as an Institutional Basis for Protecting the Interests of Businesses and Citizens”; Nargiza Abdiyeva, Professor at Tashkent State University of Economics, on “The Role of Auditing as a Mechanism for Protecting the Interests of the State and Business Entities: Strengthening Transparency and Accountability and Ways to Combat Corruption”; Alimammad Nuriyev, President of the Constitutional Research Foundation, on “Audit, Transparency and Civil Society: Three Pillars of Trust”; Elshad Samadzade, Deputy Chairman of the Azerbaijan Union of Economists, on “The Role of Auditing in Protecting Human Rights”; Azizakhon Gofurova, Associate Professor at Tashkent State University of Economics, on “Auditing as a Mechanism for Combating Corruption and Protecting Public Interests”; Anvar Aslanov, Head of the Department of Special Audits, Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing, Internal Control and Forensic Analysis of the Chamber of Auditors, on “The Strategic Importance of Auditing in Ensuring Economic Security and Legal Transparency”; Mugalib Mahmudov, Head of the Legal Awareness Sector of the Office of the Ombudsman, on “Enhancing Legal Awareness in the Field of Auditing in the Context of Protecting Human Rights and Public Interests”; Nodira Shanasirova, Associate Professor at Tashkent State University of Economics, on “The Development of Auditing as an Institutional Mechanism for Ensuring Transparency, Accountability and the Protection of Public Interests in the Context of Globalization”; Saftar Valizade, Director-Auditor of “SR Audit Solutions” LLC, on “The Role of Independent Auditing in Ensuring Transparency”; and Shamkhal Karimov, Director-Auditor of “ACCREDO AUDIT” LLC, on “Money Laundering during the Audit Process and the AML/CFT Methodology”. During the discussions following the presentations, the role of auditing in increasing the efficiency of public administration, strengthening public oversight, reducing corruption risks, ensuring economic security, protecting citizens’ rights and creating a transparent business environment was comprehensively analyzed.

At the conclusion of the conference, particular attention was paid to the institutional development of cooperation among professional audit and accounting organizations of the member states of the Organization of Turkic States. In this context, the initiative to establish the Union of Accountants and Independent Auditors of the Turkic States was extensively discussed.

It was noted that, against the backdrop of the common historical, cultural and economic ties of the brotherly Turkic states, the establishment of a unified professional platform in the field of auditing and accounting could contribute to bringing mutual cooperation to a new stage. The main objective of the initiative is to unite the audit and accounting organizations of the Turkic states within a single cooperation network, ensure the joint application of professional standards, expand the exchange of best practices, support the professional development of auditors and accountants, and contribute to strengthening transparency and trust in economic relations.

It was emphasized that the Union of Accountants and Independent Auditors of the Turkic States could in the future become one of the professional platforms making an important contribution to the economic integration agenda of the Organization of Turkic States, contribute to further improving the investment climate and ensuring more reliable protection of the legitimate interests of the state, businesses and citizens. At the same time, the establishment of the Union was regarded as an important step towards developing common approaches in auditing and accounting, mutual recognition of professional qualifications and the creation of a unified audit space.

At the end of the conference, the initial draft of the Charter of the Union of Accountants and Independent Auditors of the Turkic States was discussed, and it was deemed appropriate to sign it on 16 September of the current year in Baku, within the framework of an international conference dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the commencement of the Chamber of Auditors’ activities, with the participation of the heads of audit and accounting organizations of the Turkic states.