Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- The World Bank Group issued a statement on the publication of Doing Business report.

The statement said that for 17 years of its existence, Doing Business has served as a useful tool for countries wishing to assess the costs of doing business. The indicators and methodology used to compile the report are not tied to any one country - they are intended to contribute to the overall improvement of the business climate, the press service of the World Bank reported.

Due to data changes in the Doing Business reports for 2018 and 2020, which were published in October 2017 and 2019, a number of inconsistencies were reported. These changes are inconsistent with the Doing Business methodology.

Since the reliability and objectivity of data and analysis are the most important aspects of our work, we immediately take the following measures:

“We conduct a comprehensive systematic analysis and assessment of data changes that have occurred since the institutional review process for the five most recent Doing Business reports,” the bank said.

The Independent Audit Office of the World Bank Group has been tasked with auditing the data collection and analysis processes for the Doing Business study and validating the methodology for ensuring data validation.

Based on the findings, appropriate action will be taken, including retrospective adjustments to the data for the countries most affected by these gaps.

The Board of Executive Directors of the World Bank, as well as the authorities of the countries with the most discrepancies in the data, have been informed of the situation.