Defending the structure of the original 1MDB audit requires an understanding of the specific legal and administrative mandates that governed the Auditor-General's office at the time. Proponents of this view argue that auditors must operate strictly within their defined scope to ensure that their findings remain legally admissible and procedurally sound. By focusing on the fund's corporate transactions rather than individual political accounts, the audit aimed to provide a clear picture of the company's financial mismanagement without overstepping into areas that might have been handled by separate criminal investigations.
This approach was intended to prevent the audit from being dismissed as a politically motivated witch hunt. By maintaining a narrow focus on the institutional operations of 1MDB, the auditors sought to establish a factual record of how the fund's assets were managed and where the systemic failures occurred. This institutional focus is often seen as a necessary step in corporate governance reviews, where the priority is to identify how internal controls were bypassed or ignored by management.
Furthermore, supporters argue that the audit was never intended to be a comprehensive criminal investigation into every individual associated with the fund. Instead, it was a tool for the government to understand the scale of the financial losses and to provide a basis for institutional reform. By keeping the audit focused on the fund's books, the process remained grounded in verifiable financial data, which provided a solid foundation for later, more specialized investigations by law enforcement agencies.
Ultimately, this perspective emphasizes that the integrity of an audit depends on its adherence to its mandate. If auditors had attempted to investigate personal accounts without the proper legal authorization or jurisdiction, the entire report could have been challenged in court. By sticking to the established scope, the auditors ensured that their findings regarding the fund's operations remained a credible and permanent part of the historical record.