Spring Has Sprung, So Has the INTOSAI Journal’s Redesigned Website

It has been a long time coming!

The much anticipated redesigned website makes its debut April 30, 2018, in conjunction with the release of the Spring 2018 issue. Though the site’s look will be brand new, the location remains the same—www.intosaijournal.org.

Since its inception in 1974, the International Journal of Government Auditing (Journal), the official communication organ of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI), has continuously sought to create a dynamic knowledge sharing forum and foster a greater sense of community through our published articles, social media interaction and informative website.

In the Journal’s January 2015 issue, Mr. James-Christian Blockwood, Managing Director of Strategic Planning and External Liaison (SPEL) for the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) and Journal President, championed the Journal to operate with innovation, transparency and accountability as its key drivers. In his article, Mr. Blockwood conveyed a distinct emphasis on moving toward a stronger web presence.

“We believe that a heightened flow of information, through more interactive tools and technologies, will provide a more robust knowledge sharing experience for our readers,” he noted.

The Journal’s website, which was initially launched in 1999, received its first facelift in 2007. However, to keep up with technological advances and better harness global audit community communications, it was time once again for a website overhaul—an overhaul we have finally, and proudly, achieved.

“Our goal was to develop a more useful, relevant, content-rich, interactive online presence that was also brand consistent. We wanted the site to be intuitive, inviting, modern and streamlined,” according to Ms. Heather Santos, Journal Editor.

Mr. Blockwood added that the redesign lends itself to expanding what we share and how we share it.

“As the Journal continues to progress and evolve, we want to learn more from INTOSAI members and all relevant organizations worldwide. We have increased our physical presence at events, providing a first-hand perspective and performing real-time reporting via social media. We want to absorb all of the news, information and best practices we are seeing and transmit it in a meaningful way. The new website will enhance our ability to do this,” he said.

Live event reporting and networking has had a significant impact on the Journal’s audience—increasing connectivity and information sharing on a global scale.

But, noted Ms. Santos, “We are still missing a sizable portion of our readership.”

Ms. Santos added, “We performed an environmental scan of INTOSAI members approximately 10 months ago, and noticed that only about 17 percent used some form of social media (mostly Twitter). We wanted to address this by incorporating the Journal’s Twitter feed into the new web design—providing a snapshot of the latest trends in an effort to reach those who may not have a Twitter account but also give them a reason to join our Twitter community and get more involved.”

Engaging and interacting with Journal readers and the greater accountability community is fundamental to spark necessary conversations, and employing the latest methods and technologies to keep our readership energized is extremely important.

“As we amplified our event attendance, we definitely noticed a shift in how information is conveyed to participants. Gone are the static presentations, as they are becoming increasingly replaced by multimedia productions, particularly video,” noted Ms. Kristie Conserve, Journal Assistant Editor.

“The rise in audiovisual use compelled us to respond similarly,” Ms. Conserve asserted.

As Journal staff attend more events, our goal will be to capture key moments to generate original footage specifically for website visitors via an embedded video channel. The video channel will also allow us to link to YouTube, so we will be on the lookout for great feed from INTOSAI members and partner organizations using this medium.

Another website redesign highlight is a more detailed and responsive calendar than what our website previously had.” As INTOSAI events are added, revised or canceled, we can react to these changes more quickly. In addition to the typical date and location of each event, we will also be able to provide custom details, a map pinpointing the event, as well as a link to Google maps for additional data.

Wait! There’s more! In the past, the Journal could only take submissions via email (intosaijournal@gao.gov). While this method is still available, those wishing to contribute news can also do so online—directly from the website.

We are extremely excited to unveil the INTOSAI Journal’s new site, and, as always, we continue to seek new ideas and would love to hear yours on how we can continue to make the Journal (in all its forms) even better as we strive to put into practice the INTOSAI motto, “Mutual experience benefits all.”

WHAT’S NEW?

Twitter Feed: see what’s trending on the Journal’s twitter channel (@intosaijournal).

News Scroll: the latest news across INTOSAI continuously scrolling so you won’t miss a story or event.

Video Channel: ability to link to other INTOSAI community member videos, as well as generate original event-related footage.

Online Submissions: submit your news, events, article directly from the website.

Responsive Calendar: now you don’t have to wait for the quarterly issues to learn about any new happenings. Send us your event, and we can add it immediately.