Tag: Feature Articles

Information Technology (IT) audits are often complex, and audit outcomes tend to result in technical reports written in technical language. As noted in International Standards of Supreme Audit Institutions (ISSAI) 5300, very few people find such lengthy and complicated documents appealing or understandable. The Supreme Audit Institution (SAI) of Argentina has…

The Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation (Accounts Chamber), Russia’s Supreme Audit Institution (SAI), recently began using an Information Analysis System (IAS) integrated with government entity databases to conduct remote audits. The SAI’s experience underscores benefits to using such an approach and identifies…

Data has become a prominent auditing buzzword—as revealed through the increased use of the term throughout the global accountability community to include the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) and its member Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs). While data opens up new possibilities for SAIs…

Controlling and assuring quality can be challenging, particularly in environments where resources are limited, since quality involves systems and processes aimed at ensuring SAIs issue reports that are appropriate and in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. Creating a central, dedicated quality office is essential—it allows a SAI to focus on…

Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) represent important mechanisms in safeguarding public resources, and the broad authorities of the Comptroller of Israel are intended to, among other things, strengthen good governance. However, evaluating public audit effectiveness and its ability to enhance good governance is complex and often difficult, if not impossible. This article explores modeling to examine audit effectiveness, including…

The State Audit Office of Vietnam (SAV) issues audit reports at every audit’s conclusion, yet judging and comparing quality among various audits is a difficult task. Some research cites audit quality as the ability for auditors to detect and report material misstatements during the audit process. This ability is highly dependent on…

The creation of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) Working Group on Big Data speaks to the increased attention to enhanced data analytics. While much consideration has focused on quantitative techniques, this article highlights qualitative analysis, its relevance and ability to…

Research suggests a principal cause of fraud to be a weak, limited internal control system.An internal control system aims to (1) comply with legal, technical and administrative order; (2) promote an entity’s efficiency and effectiveness; (3) guarantee information reliability and timeliness; and…

Corruption and money laundering demoralize human development, international security and national economies. According to the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF), corruption is the greatest hurdle to lifting millions of people from destitution. Money laundering invigorates corruption, as it does all profit-driven delinquencies. Corruption and money laundering are mutualistic…

Corruption and financial fraud are very challenging issues within the banking system that can inflict irreparable harm to a nation’s development and growth. The potential widespread and destructive effects can reduce social capital and increase poverty, social injustice and class divisions. The banking system will continue to face these issues far into the future until successful counteraction initiatives are implemented…

In September 2015, nearly all United Nations (UN) member countries committed to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—global goals created to steer policy making and development funding until 2030. Each goal is comprised of targets, and each target is further refined through one or two indicators designed to measure progress. Though global targets and indicators have been established for each goal…

Auditors love words! Having served as an auditor for more than 10 years, it seems that words tend to be a source of comfort and confidence, and we, as auditors, rely on words when attempting to get our message across to readers. At the same time, we realize those reading our reports are probably suffering from…

“You must run to keep in place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that.”—Red Queen theory of evolution. Traditionally, audits, based on accounting standards, have focused on financial statement accuracy and regularity. In the area of public audit, the traditional approach also…

Public audit aims to enhance good governance by promoting transparency and accountability in governmental financial affairs. Throughout the audit process, identifying any weaknesses and gaps is crucial, particularly pertaining to legal compliance; internal control; revenue assessment and collection; budget, public procurement and project management; and…

Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) play a pivotal role in holding governments accountable for the use of public funds. At the forefront of good governance, SAIs can significantly add value and benefits to the lives of citizens. This article explores SAI stakeholder engagement and presents findings from an international survey…

The adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the United Nations (UN) in 2015 marks an impressive milestone in the modernized world’s history. Nearly all UN-member countries have accepted (and most have ratified) the SDGs into national policy frameworks. The SDG initiative attempts to…

Since 2005, the Office of the State Audit Office (SAO) of the Kingdom of Thailand, the nation’s Supreme Audit Institution (SAI), has been responsible for initiating environmental audits, and the SAO gives precedence to environmental issues involving sustainable development. This article depicts the SAO’s three-phase approach in carrying out environmental performance audits and cultivating…

Poland has declared its commitment to implement the 2030 UN Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a task calling for cooperation from the entire administration and all relevant stakeholders. A new development model for Poland, outlined in the country’s Strategy for Responsible Development, meets Agenda 2030 expectations and is consistent with…

The question of resources and their efficiency is as old as humankind. INTOSAI and individual SAIs certainly have this topic on their minds. Energy efficiency is also at the heart of Europe 2020 Strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth and the transition to a resource efficient economy. Energy efficiency is arguably one of the most cost effective ways to…

Human resources are the most valuable asset in each organization and there is a relationship between human resource management and organizational performance. In the field of state audit, failure in human resource management would negatively impact the overall performance of a supreme audit institution (SAI)). In an endeavour to develop human capital competencies in SAIs, training is introduced as…

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…

With the spread of Information Technology (IT) in government activities, Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) have been increasingly implementing Computer Assisted Auditing Techniques (CAATs). Among the CAATs, Geographic Information System (GIS), which can depict, overlay and analyze geospatial information based on location, can be of value for every step of audit. The GIS can efficiently depict and analyze attribute data, as well as…