Tag: accountability

Efficient and effective utilization of public funds and resources is essential for all countries to achieve their development targets. Government auditors, led by national supreme audit institutions (SAIs), play a critical role in monitoring the utilization of these resources. SAIs are countries’ top watchdogs on government finances and are mandated, often by national constitutions, to scrutinize whether governments are managing public funds properly. SAIs conduct financial audits that examine the legality of financial transactions and performance audits to assess whether public funds have been used efficiently and effectively. Audit reports issued by SAIs contain recommendations on how to improve financial management. 

The National Audit Office of China (CNAO) places equal importance on both revealing problems in audit and correcting problems identified. Through in-depth research-based auditing, proactive efforts have been made to heighten the effectiveness of follow-up audit featuring clarified implementation responsibilities, operational workflows, and value added outcomes.

The French Cour des comptes and regional and territorial chambers (CRTCs) underwent a major overhaul with the reform of the financial liability regime for public managers on 1st January 2023. Until this date, the contentious functions of these financial jurisdictions were based on two distinct liability regimes: the one specifically applicable to public accountants (who handle the public fund and keep the accounts) and the one generally applicable to “authorizing” public managers (who decide on revenue and expenditure).

Following a number of years of deteriorating audit outcomes and a lack of consequences for the mismanagement of the public funds by those charged with the governance of government entities, the public demand for enhanced accountability and transparency saw calls from the public, media and parliamentary oversight structures for a review of the mandate and powers of the Auditor-General South Africa (AGSA) to go beyond auditing and reporting in an effort to strengthen accountability mechanisms. 

Killer robots, also known as lethal autonomous weapon systems (LAWS), is not science fiction. They exist. Soon we can have AI-powered drone swarms where the drones themselves decide who to kill and what to attack. SAIs should play a role in keeping the development and use of such weapons under human control, in line with international law.

The International Budget Partnership (IBP) initiated the Audit Accountability Initiative to bring together supreme audit institutions (SAIs) and civil society organizations (CSOs) to strengthen government responsiveness to audit recommendations through more effective communication and engagement.

Through the proper mechanisms and implementation of integrity, transparency and accountability principles, the Corruption Eradication Commission of Indonesia, along with other oversight institutions, contribute to eradicating corruption in the public sector.

In the first week of June in 2022, this INTOSAI-Regions Coordination Platform (IRCP) gathered in a hybrid format to discuss INTOSAI’s response to capacity development challenges and opportunities faced by SAIs.

Multiple INTOSAI entities jointly organized a discussion panel in New York City to spotlight Supreme Audit Institution (SAI) contributions to the United Nations’ (UN) 2030 Agenda and efforts to address UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The Uzbekistan Chamber of Accounts launched a special e-platform, named “State Audit”, which allows the Chamber of Accounts to track control activities of public funds through a centralized system.

As an international lender of last resort, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has been the largest provider of emergency financing for COVID-19, making available an unprecedented $250 billion to over 85 member countries. These funds, which have largely been used as domestic budget support, have been critical in bolstering governments’ responses to the pandemic. However, the rapid dispersal of these vast sums has increased the risk of…

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…

SAIs are called upon to lead by example, as stated in ISSAI 20, which indicates transparency is a powerful force in combating corruption, improving governance and promoting accountability. The SAO of Hungary has employed several mechanisms over the years to enhance transparency and promote…

The National Intergovernmental Audit Forum (NIAF) is pleased to announce there is no-cost space available to participate in the 23rd Biennial Forum of Government Auditors July 28-30, 2020! As the COVID-19 Pandemic has posed…

The Comptroller General’s Office of the Republic of Costa Rica, the nation’s Supreme Audit Institution (SAI), has undertaken actions to strengthen compliance follow-up activities—a task of great relevance aimed at improving processes that contribute to making a difference in citizens’ lives…

The General Auditing Bureau (GAB) of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia hosted the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions’ (INTOSAI) 15th Policy, Finance and Administration Committee (PFAC) meeting in Riyadh, where members came together to discuss INTOSAI’s past progress and future initiatives. The PFAC aims to organize and govern INTOSAI in ways that promote…

The State Audit Office of the Republic of Latvia was created according to the supreme audit institution model which provides recommendations for improvement to the audited entity. This model does not include any mandate to apply sanctions towards the audited entity if any infringements or discrepancies are to be found or if the auditee fails to implement the recommendations. According to the law…

The State Audit Bureau of Kuwait (SAB) hosted the “The State Audit Bureau Youth Forum…