I was Vice President of the Brazilian Federal Court of Accounts (TCU) when COVID-19 broke out worldwide, posing extraordinary challenges to people and organizations. However, this was not the first time I had faced adversity. Having lived through difficult historical periods in Brazilian history, such as the years of military dictatorship, I have been...
New IJGA President Outlines Vision for the Journal
Fifty years ago, INTOSAI published the first edition of the International Journal of Government Auditing (IJGA) at the 1971 Montreal Congress of INTOSAI (INCOSAI). Shortly thereafter, the INTOSAI Governing Board approved establishing a quarterly publication to facilitate knowledge sharing across our community. In 1974...
SAI New Zealand Publishes Report on Sustainable Development Goals
During a nationwide lockdown in August 2021, the New Zealand Office of the Auditor-General, the country’s Supreme Audit Institution (SAI), published its report on The Government’s Preparedness to Implement the Sustainable Development Goals. The SAI’s report presented the results of...
Vlora Spanca Appointed Auditor General of the Republic of Kosovo
The Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo elected Mrs. Vlora Spanca to a five-year term as Auditor General of the Republic of Kosovo on August 12, 2021. As Auditor General, Mrs. Spanca is committed to continuing to strengthen the National Audit Office’s (NAO) role in enhancing transparency and accountability in the public sector. Under her leadership, NAO...
SAI Guatemala Updates Internal Control Standards
In August 2021, Dr. Edwin Humberto Salazar Jerez, Comptroller General of Accounts of the Republic of Guatemala, launched the National System of Governmental Internal Control (SINACIG), which aims to strengthen and streamline the internal controls of public institutions in accordance with international best practices. This system will...
State Authorities to Report to SAI Peru on Possible Conflicts of Interest
For the first time, state authorities will be required to submit a sworn statement to the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic of Peru on their personal, family, employment, economic, and financial ties, to identify and avoid possible conflicts of interest. This measure will help ensure...
SAI Costa Rica Uses Innovative, Agile Approaches to Oversee Pandemic Response
In 2020, the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic of Costa Rica, the country's Supreme Audit Institution (SAI), designed a strategic audit approach to assess Bono Proteger, a government program that provides $100-200 USD cash payments, for up to three months, to...
SAI Philippines Contributes to IBP Discussion on Managing COVID-19 Funds
Commission on Audit (COA) Chairperson Michael G. Aguinaldo shared the experiences of the Philippines’ Supreme Audit Institution (SAI) at the International Budget Partnership’s (IBP) online discussion, “Managing COVID Funds: A Global Scorecard of Accountability,” held on May 24, 2021. The discussion centered on...
Auditor General of Nepal Submits 58th Annual Report to President
On August 20, 2021, Mr. Tanka Mani Sharma Dangal, Honorable Auditor General of Nepal, submitted the 58th report of the Auditor General to the Right Honorable President Mrs. Bidya Devi Bhandari, in accordance with the Constitution. President Bhandari thanked the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) for its efforts. The report presented...
National Audit Office of China Ensures Implementation of Recommendations, Appoints Special Audit Advisors
On June 7, 2021, Mr. Hou Kai, Auditor General of the National Audit Office of China (CNAO), presented a report to the legislature during the 29th Session of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC). The report outlined the results of...
SAI Azerbaijan Joins ASOSAI Audit Committee
At the 15th Assembly of the Asian Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (ASOSAI), held on September 7, 2021, the Chamber of Accounts of the Republic of Azerbaijan was elected, together with SAI Kazakhstan, as a new member of ASOSAI’s Audit Committee for 2021-2024. This was the first time...
SAI Egypt Participates in Various INTOSAI Events
From June through August 2021, the Accountability State Authority (ASA) of Egypt, the country’s Supreme Audit Institution (SAI), participated virtually in...
SAI Lithuania Assesses the Mitigation of the Pandemic’s Impact on Mental Health
In July 2021, the National Audit Office of Lithuania published a report assessing how the government has mitigated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health, as well as the availability of mental health services. The report also included a survey of the European Union’s Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) to learn about other countries’ efforts and experiences in this area. The National Audit Office found that...
GAO Holds International Webinar on Auditing for Fraud
With governments around the world spending massive sums to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) have a key role to play in detecting and preventing fraud. To share knowledge and best practices, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) held an international webinar on September 15, 2021, on “Auditing for Fraud: Experiences, Tools and Techniques, and Looking Ahead.” The virtual event, which attracted approximately 260 attendees, was...
Algerian Court of Accounts Participates in International Events and Learning Sessions
The Algerian Court of Accounts (COA) participated in the following international events from June to September 2021...
SAO Hungary Reports on Audit of Vaccination System, Uses Technology to Improve Efficiency
In July 2021, the State Audit Office (SAO) of Hungary published a report on a compliance and performance audit it conducted on emerging epidemics and vaccination coverage. The challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic have made the findings of the audit...
The Disaster Resilience Framework: A Tool to Promote Foresight and Accountability
Natural disasters, such as hurricanes, flooding, and wildfires, have the potential to devastate people’s everyday lives by causing injuries and death, destroying homes and infrastructure, and wreaking economic havoc. From 2000 through 2019, there were 7,348 major disaster events worldwide, which claimed 1.23 million lives, affected 4.2 billion people (many more than once), and resulted in approximately U.S. $2.97 trillion in global economic losses. Governments usually lead recovery efforts by...
Virtual Audit Workshops Facilitate Learning, Collaboration during the Pandemic
Among the many drastic changes wrought by the COVID-19 crisis has been the sudden shift to a virtual work environment. At the start of the pandemic, some audit offices had already made significant strides toward enabling remote work, while others conducted work primarily in-person, whether to build a collaborative work culture, ensure safe handling of sensitive documents, or due to limited information technology infrastructure or other reasons. The pandemic has presented..
Strengthening SAI Independence in the Pacific
Pacific Island Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs), many of which are very small in comparison with SAIs in other regions, face an array of challenges. These range from issues related to serving small populations, like a high risk of perceived conflicts of interest and difficulty recruiting and retaining qualified staff, to grave threats like the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change. Given these challenges, it can be tempting for SAIs in the Pacific Association of SAIs (PASAI) region to...
EUROSAI COVID-19 Project Group Builds Resilience through Collaboration
When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, the United Kingdom’s National Audit Office (UK NAO) was able to effectively carry on its work by quickly pivoting to remote auditing and using technology to build relationships within the agency and around the world. Indeed, many auditors continued to conduct audits and publish audit reports without ever meeting their teams or clients in person. Aspects of UK NAO’s operations were not the only things to change. The Supreme Audit Institution’s (SAI) portfolio of work also...
CBC Steering Committee Meeting Highlights Progress Made Despite Challenges
On September 29, 2021, INTOSAI’s Capacity Building Committee (CBC) held its annual Steering Committee meeting, led by South African Auditor General Tsakani Maluleke, CBC Chair, and Swedish Auditor General Helena Lindberg, CBC Vice Chair. The virtual event featured updates from the Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) leading CBC’s subcommittees, task forces, and workstreams, whose work demonstrates...
KSC Steering Committee Meeting Emphasizes Value of Collaboration
The 13th Steering Committee meeting of the Knowledge Sharing and Knowledge Services Committee (KSC) was held virtually on September 16, 2021. Representatives from the INTOSAI Chair, Goal Committees, General Secretariat, and INTOSAI Development Initiative IDI) participated, along with representatives of KSC’s 12 working groups. In his opening remarks, Mr. Girish Chandra Murmu, Comptroller and Auditor General of India and KSC Chair, underscored...
PSC Steering Committee Meeting Focuses on IFPP Updates and Improvements
On October 19, 2021, the INTOSAI Professional Standards Committee (PSC) held its 18th annual Steering Committee meeting. Minister Bruno Dantas of Brazil’s Federal Court of Accounts (TCU), the Chair of PSC, welcomed participants to the virtual event, which focused on work related to the INTOSAI Framework of Professional Pronouncements (IFPP). The meeting featured a number of updates on...
PSC Initiatives Enhance Communication, Technical Support, and Collaboration
The INTOSAI Professional Standards Committee (PSC) has a number of initiatives underway to enhance communication, technical support, and collaboration among Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs). The following are updates...
IDI Launches Initiative to Help SAIs Strengthen Crisis and Risk Management
During the COVID-19 pandemic, outdated and ineffective crisis and management systems have exacerbated disruptions to the work of many Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs), potentially undermining their ability to ensure accountability. Often, these systems do not take into account risks that have intensified during the pandemic, like limited human and financial resources, or emerging risks, like those that accompany digitization. In response to these challenges, INTOSAI Development Initiative (IDI) is...
SAIs Contribute to Building Strong and Resilient National Public Health Systems
As the world deals with a global health crisis, the immense importance of strong and resilient public health systems to achieving United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3 (SDG 3)—ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages—has never been more evident. Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) have a key role to play in addressing the deepening inequalities during such pandemics and in ensuring vulnerable segments of the population are not left behind. To that end, the INTOSAI Development Initiative (IDI), in collaboration with the regional secretariats and Knowledge Sharing and Knowledge Services Committee (KSC), is...
SAI Thailand Hosts 15th ASOSAI Assembly
On September 6-8, 2021, the State Audit Office of the Kingdom of Thailand hosted the 15th Asian Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (ASOSAI) Assembly. Highlights include...
OLACEFS Capacity Building Committee Publishes Portfolio of Resources
The Organization of Latin American and Caribbean Supreme Audit Institutions (OLACEFS) Capacity Building Committee (CCC) has published a portfolio with the main products it has developed in recent years. The aim of this effort was to...
OLACEFS and CBC Hold Webinar on Citizen Participation
The Comptroller General of the Republic of Peru, Chair of the Organization of Latin American and Caribbean Supreme Audit Institutions (OLACEFS) Citizen Participation Commission, and the Auditor-General of South Africa, Chair of the INTOSAI Capacity Building Committee (CBC), organized a webinar on September 30, 2021, on “Benefits of Citizen Participation in Governmental Control/Audit.” The webinar provided...
OLACEFS Working Group Holds First Meeting of SDG 3.B Coordinated Audit
On August 12, 2021, the Latin American and Caribbean Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (OLACEFS) held the first meeting of the Coordinated Audit of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3.b (support research, development, and affordable access for vaccines and medicines). The main objectives of the audit are to...
EFSUR Prioritizes Gender Equality
Gender equality is a priority issue and the focus of many activities conducted by the Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions of the Mercosur and Associated Countries (EFSUR). The organization is currently carrying out a coordinated audit on compliance with the United Nations’ (UN) Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 1 (end poverty), with special attention to...
Strategic Management when All Bets Are Off
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March 2020, 22 Supreme Audit Institution (SAI) teams participating in INTOSAI Development Initiative’s (IDI) Strategy, Performance Measurement and Reporting (SPMR) initiative found themselves in a precarious situation. They had spent over a year assessing their performance and crafting a strategic plan, which seemed to be turned upside down in the face of...
Observations of a Technical Advisor to Developing SAIs
Over the past decades—with the support of development partners, INTOSAI Development Initiative (IDI), INTOSAI regional bodies, and external consultants—many developing Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) have made considerable progress toward meeting internationally recognized standards. However...
IT-based Audits: A Powerful Tool in a Changing Audit Environment
To better serve the needs of citizens and enhance services, many countries have introduced innovative e-government systems using information technology (IT). According to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs’ (UN DESA) E-Government Survey 2020...