Tag: Special Contribution

Evaluations and performance audits require a robust selection process to ensure success. A thorough and systematic examination of potential performance audit topics allows the identification of those that present the highest risks and offer the greatest potential for improvement respectively. Furthermore, it facilitates determining the optimal timing for results to be integrated into the further development of respective public policies. Consequently, a well-considered selection of evaluation topics is more likely to influence existing public policies positively.

The integrity and ethics standards and guidelines of supreme audit institutions (SAIs) have been provided by the International Standards of Supreme Audit Institutions (ISSAI). INTOSAI P1 on the Lima Declaration states that members and auditors of a SAI must have the qualifications and moral integrity required to carry out their duties. ISSAI 100 on Fundamental Principles of Public Sector Auditing states that SAIs need to develop and maintain procedures relevant to organizational ethics and quality control to ensure that the supreme audit institution and its auditors comply with standards, ethics and statutory provisions. Furthermore, ISSAI 130 on the Code of Ethics emphasizes the need for a SAI to implement an ethics control system that comprises specific strategies, policies, and procedures. These practical elements, such as regular ethics training, clear ethical guidelines, and a system for reporting ethical violations, are crucial to guide, manage, and control ethical behaviour, making the implementation of ethics control systems a tangible and effective process. 

Learn about the INTOSAI Donor Cooperation’s Brokering Upscaled SAI Support (BUSS) and Global SAI Accountability Initiative (GSAI) Initiatives.

Amongst the many things the INTOSAI Donor Cooperation (IDC) does to strengthen support to the SAI community, the IDC’s brokerage activities have helped connect SAIs with resources, guidance, and partnerships from donors, peer partners, and other organizations. The INTOSAI Development Initiative’s (IDI) Global Foundations Unit leads this work with the goal of enhancing the capacity of SAIs to lead their own development initiatives. 

The financial statement audit, aims to provide confidence in financial statements for users’ decisions. Financial statement auditors give an independent opinion on whether financial statements are presented in accordance with the designated framework and accurately represent an entity’s financial position and activity outcomes. As organizations have developed and grown in size, so has the complexity of their operations, which have greatly influenced financial statement audit approaches. These developments do not erase the previous methods; instead, it builds upon them to make the audit process more efficient and effective.

In the aftermath of the global pandemic, operational, financial, and strategic landscapes within audited entities have dramatically transformed. This shift necessitates Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) to revise their auditing methodologies and face novel challenges as they seek to assess the pandemic’s impact on audited agencies effectively.

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.

After 40 years of conducting its International Auditor Fellowship Program (fellows program) in-person, the U.S….

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.

The Audit Office of the Institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina (SAI Bosnia and Herzegovina) developed its first communication strategy for a four-year period (2022-2025). The communication strategy aims to increase the impact of SAI Bosnia and Herzegovina, and enables delivery of proper value and benefits for the society through enhanced stakeholder 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.

The phenomenon of corruption is no longer a concept—it is an international crime crossing borders; undermining political stability and peace; devastating social, economic and political structures; obstructing development plans; destroying trust in governments; and emboldening terrorism. Such implications necessitate addressing corruption with more…

Kimi Makwetu, at the helm of the Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA)—as Deputy Auditor General and Auditor General—for 13 years and head of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) Capacity Building Committee since 2013, passed away November 11, 2020. We have lost a great leader who…

On September 30, 2020, GAO’s CAE marked its fifth anniversary, having made significant progress in expanding GAO capabilities to build audit capacity and promote good governance around the country and around the world. The CAE, which reports to GAO’s Strategic Planning and External Liaison (SPEL) office, provides…