Tag: training

The INTOSAI Working Group on Environmental Auditing (WGEA) side event, “Innovations in Environmental Auditing”, at the INCOSAI spotlighted the latest innovations within the INTOSAI WGEA community. First, highlighting some of the recent innovations, Vivi Niemenmaa from the WGEA Secretariat introduced the new agile support system, Audit Clinic, that has been piloted in 2025 with outstanding feedback. This is a mechanism where SAIs can book a one-hour consultation slot with a more experienced SAI to discuss any environmental audit related issue. As another innovation, Dashiell Da Costa from SAI Brazil, revealed the first results of the second assessment round of the ClimateScanner, covering assessments from 100 SAIs. The official launch was foreseen in the COP30 Climate Conference.  

At the XXV INCOSAI, a dedicated side event celebrated INTOSAI’s formal recognition of the Professional Education for Supreme Audit Institution (SAI) Auditors (PESA) qualification, highlighted the launch of INTOSAI co-branding and the Arabic version of the qualification, and supported a key motion at INCOSAI. The INTOSAI community came together to support PESA in its journey, including Supreme Audit Institutions, (SAIs), experts, and partners who had contributed to professionalising public sector auditing.

“Docendo discimus.” When we teach, we learn. Has your Supreme Audit Institute (SAI) considered developing a “Leaders-as-Teachers” program? Under a Leaders-as-Teachers program, experienced analysts and auditors step into the classroom to teach newer staff how to perform key audit tasks. Effective teaching by experienced auditors who have “been there and done that” helps staff to learn, remember, and, most importantly, apply the course material. Building on adult learning principles that adults learn best when they are interested and involved, instructors facilitate discussion of the material through thoughtful, probing questions and they teach using dynamic, on-point lectures, vivid language, illustrative examples, and storytelling with messages that stick. The result is curious, engaged learners who are excited to learn more about the topic. 

Since 2020, the Federal Court of Accounts of Brazil (TCU) has been structuring a policy of professional trajectories, with the aim of greater professionalization of its auditors. A professional trajectory is defined as the sequence of positions or roles occupied throughout the functional life of an auditor, encompassing qualifications, experiences, and competencies necessary to perform functions at a certain career level.

One of the Pacific Association of Supreme Audit Institutions (PASAI)’s programme activities is to ensure all member supreme audit institutions (SAIs) develop and implement their own comprehensive and realistic strategic plans. However, SAIs may lack the ability and capacity to develop their own strategic and operational plans, as well as establish frameworks to monitor and report on their performance against these plans. In February 2023, three member SAIs did not have a strategic plan, and five had strategic plans that were set to expire within the year. 

After the Office of the Auditor-General (OAG) of Fiji established a Quality Assurance (QA) function in 2017, the benefits went beyond assurance that the SAI’s audit engagements complied with ISSAIs. It also enabled the SAI to implement improvements to its audit methodology and Quality Control (QC) system.

Pacific Association of Supreme Audit Institutions (PASAI), delivered a workshop called Effective Stakeholder Engagement attended by staff from 10 Pacific Island public audit offices.

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.

Over the years, the Latin American and Caribbean Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (OLACEFS) has developed new spaces and advances in terms of Gender Equality.

The Capacity Building Committee (CCC) of the Organization of Latin American and Caribbean Supreme Audit Institutions (OLACEFS) launched the 2022-2024 OLACEFS Training Plan, which contemplates the offer of capacity building initiatives for the three-year period. 

The Chamber of Accounts of the Republic of Azerbaijan hosted the 25th Governing Board and 20th Training Committee meetings of the Economic Cooperation Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (ECOSAI) on December 6, 2021, in Baku. The Chamber has been a member of ECOSAI—a regional forum of the SAIs of South and Central Asia—since September 2002 and has repeatedly…

The Accountability State Authority (ASA) of Egypt, the country’s Supreme Audit Institution (SAI), participated virtually in the 42nd meeting of the Council of Ministers of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) on November 9, 2021. The meeting was chaired by…

In 2020, the African Organization of English-speaking Supreme Audit Institutions (AFROSAI-E) embarked on a journey to support the region’s SAIs in their efforts to strengthen gender equality. The two main objectives of this initiative were to help SAIs become gender-responsive organizations, and to…

The Supreme Audit Office (SAO) of Slovakia, the Chair of the INTOSAI Capacity Building Committee’s (CBC) Subcommittee on Peer Reviews, organized a virtual seminar on “Getting Ready for Peer Review” on November 10, 2021. Nine speakers from seven SAIs and the European Court of Auditors (ECA) shared their insights into peer review procedures, as well as…

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..

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…

The Office of the Auditor General of the Union (OAG), Myanmar’s Supreme Audit Institution (SAI), recently launched two internal courses: a refresher course for staff officers, and a capacity-building course for senior auditors, with 109 and 58 participants, respectively. The goals of the two-month-long courses—led by five Deputy Directors and an Assistant Director—are to…

Over the last five years, agencies in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s public sector have undergone fundamental transformations—including restructuring, implementing governance mechanisms, and activating control requirements—aimed at improving their performance. The General Court of Audit (GCA), the country’s Supreme Audit Institution (SAI), has sought to contribute to these efforts by…

“Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world,” said Nelson Mandela. This is a maxim that the INTOSAI community has taken to heart in the development, launch, and rollout of the Professional Education for SAI Auditors Pilot (PESA-P), a first-ever pilot by, and for…

The Turkish Court of Audit (TCA) provides trainings not only to its own staff and international stakeholders, but also to employees of the public entities it audits, in accordance with international standards, TCA’s Strategic Plan (2019-2023), and its communication strategy. These trainings…

On April 7, 2021, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) held the first in a series of free international webinars to promote knowledge sharing and address emerging issues the INTOSAI community is facing during the pandemic. More information about the webinar series can be found here. The topic of the first webinar was the challenges and lessons learned in conducting real-time audits of COVID-19 activities. The webinar featured…

Access to a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on Performance Audit—promoted by the Organization of Latin American and Caribbean Supreme Audit Institutions (OLACEFS) Capacity Building Committee, currently under the presidency of Brazil’s Federal Court of Accounts—was made available in October 2020. This free course provides information about…