Tag: science and technology

In the government procurement process, multiple bodies play a role in ensuring compliance and accountability before contracts are finalized. Government procurement oversight bodies such as ministries, authorities, and other specialized agencies are often tasked with the ex-ante audit or approval of public procurement contracts. They ensure that contracts align with legal requirements, financial thresholds, and tender specifications before they are signed. They often maintain a centralized contracts database, which holds records of procurement agreements from all government entities.

The application of algorithms and artificial intelligence (AI) technology in government provides many opportunities for improving governmental processes, public service delivery, citizen engagement, and helping solve social challenges. As a result, this kind of technology is increasingly becoming a more important part of how governments operate. However, the introduction of AI also introduces risks if not deployed responsibly. For instance, AI might contain biases that lead to discriminatory outcomes or personal data may not be adequately protected. A lack of transparency when using the technology might lead to governance challenges. 

The State Audit Office of Georgia (SAO) has emerged as an inspiration for innovation and accountability for advancing effective public financial management. To fulfill its mandate of identifying and addressing systemic deficiencies in public administration, the SAO has embraced innovative technology, launching a transformative initiative of Audit Recommendation Implementation System (ARIS). This article explores the impact of the ARIS, the groundbreaking platform that has significantly changed the follow-up process of audit recommendations in Georgia.

Creating an effective and safe environment for remote work in the public sector requires clear policies, careful planning, technology and infrastructure, data security, performance measurement, and focus on productivity of employees, and public sector auditing organizations have a role to play in ensuring this environment.

The number of people over 50 receiving disability allowances increased by 36% in France between 2011 and 2019. The Court of Accounts wanted to check whether the needs of the populations concerned were being adequately met.

In the digital era, the one of the main challenges of public sector auditing is responding to digital disruption. Hence, several Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) have attempted to move from a traditional to a modern approach, which is steered by digital technology.

In the light of the world’s developments in information technology, the term Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been traded in discussions often in recent times. It is considered a modern field that attracts the attention of all societies, which is constantly evolving, and it is expected to play a crucial role in humanity’s future. Utilizing AI systems and modern information technology is key for the future of data processing in auditing to complete the audit work efficiently and effectively.

The International Meeting of Performance Audit Critical Thinkers (IMPACT) Conference, an initiative of the Australasian…

The Government Accountability Office—the United States Supreme Audit Institution—established its Innovation Lab in 2019 as a research entity dedicated to exploration and experimentation of data science techniques and emerging technologies. The goal is to amplify GAO’s oversight capabilities across the evolving web 3.0 landscape. The INTOSAI Journal recently joined the Lab for a tour of the facility at GAO headquarters where an entrepreneurial team of data scientists, technologists, and analysts come together collaboratively across a portfolio of novel projects ranging from deployment of large language models to use of extended reality.

Big Data Analytics (BDA) has increased significantly in recent years. BDA is frequently used to represent immense amounts of data, so users can analyze it more efficiently and make judgements in audit process (Saggi and Jain 2018). Consequently, the worldwide auditing community has formed to mobilize the use of BDA in auditing (Appelbaum, Kogan, and Vasarhelyi 2017). 

In the context of information society, digital transformation has led to an exponential growth in the production and storage of data, giving birth to what is known as data science, to address the need for new tools capable of smartly processing great volumes of data and transforming them into actionable information for decision-making in multiple environments.

Albania is in a favorable geographic position to serve as a trade hub, tourist destination, and provider of financial and other services. The enhanced use of technology in manufacturing, infrastructure, and communications could give the country a competitive advantage in these fields. 

The State Audit Office (SAO) of Thailand has embarked on a journey of digital transformation. The objective is to leverage AI to enhance audit performance and foster a data-driven culture within the organization. This initiative is in line with their audit policy, which emphasizes the importance of using advanced technologies in audit processes. This article focuses on the feasibility of incorporating the advanced language model, as generative AI like ChatGPT, in SAO’s performance audit.

Over time, many definitions have been given to the term Artificial Intelligence (AI), and the association of the term with others, such as machine learning and deep learning, has resulted in difficulties for a better understanding of the topic.

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.

Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) are the cornerstone of maintaining accountability, transparency and effectiveness in the public sector, particularly in government operations. However, as technology evolves at breakneck speed, it is imperative that SAIs embrace cutting-edge data technologies, such as Machine Learning (ML), to revolutionize their auditing processes. With ML, SAIs can enhance efficiency, accuracy and effectiveness, providing a more comprehensive, data-driven analysis of government operations, thus ensuring the highest standards of accountability and trust.

Global technology trends are changing our world and the way we live. How can SAIs…

The State Audit Office of Georgia (SAOG) recognized a need for the performance audit of distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, and developed related audit findings and recommendations to overcome challenges.

Anticipating that technology would transform the way governments conduct their business, the leadership of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has aggressively promoted “e-government”—the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) to more effectively and efficiently deliver government services—for the past 20 years. This steadfast commitment to leveraging technology to improve governance has resulted in the transition from a paper-based to a digitally powered government. To stay relevant in the context of e-government, and to use technological advancements to improve the efficiency of its work, the Supreme Audit Institution (SAI) of the UAE…

Technological advances have impacted the work of most SAIs, and emerging technologies have the potential to further shape the ways in which SAIs contribute to good governance. SAIs are at different stages in their technological journeys, and their use of technology may be affected by…

Rapid developments in Science and Technology (S&T) are transforming multiple sectors of society, including medicine, transportation, and defense. These developments bring both opportunities—such as for economic growth and improved quality of life—and the potential for…

Potential useful data is piling up everywhere. Scientific and Technological (S&T) advances are happening quickly and are, just as quickly, becoming difficult to follow. Discussions on topics—such as audit automation, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain—abound, as does advice to move everything to the infamous cloud, and these trends are certainly impacting…