International Journal of Auditing – January 2010
The World Needs International Audit Standards
Claes Norgren
Auditor General of Sweden
Supreme audit institutions (SAI) play an important role in strengthening their respective countries’ accountability and governance. SAIs help their governments improve performance, enhance transparency, ensure accountability, fight corruption, promote public trust, and foster the efficient and effective receipt and use of public resources for their citizens. SAI work to reduce waste and abuse of public resources has the indirect effect of making more money available for programs to fight poverty.
SAIs are a central element of good governance and accountability. While their role as watchmen of transparency and accountability is obvious in certain countries, they can play an even more important role in promoting good governance in developing countries or fragile states. Therefore, SAI operations must set a good example as key development actors along with a system that includes a Parliament, freedom of the press, and public access to official records. Active involvement in INTOSAI is one way for SAIs to further develop their perspectives on their role in governance. Learning from the experiences of others also allows SAIs to strengthen this role. This has definitely been proven true in the Swedish experience. More