International Journal of Government Auditing-April 2006
Implementing INTOSAI's Strategic Plan: Building on the Past, Creating the Future
We are pleased to write this article about recent events related to the implementation of INTOSAI's strategic plan, which was unanimously adopted just a year and a half ago at our Budapest Congress. We focus here on the recent meeting of the Finance and Administration Committee in Riyadh, where we were pleased to welcome the new Auditor General of Norway, Mr. Juergen Kosmo, as well as Dr. Klaus-Henning Busse,
INTOSAI's newly appointed Director of Strategic Planning.
Since the Budapest Congress in 2004, both of us have been very impressed with the energy and enthusiasm that INTOSAI and its various organizations have demonstrated in implementing the strategic plan. Whether regional groups, committees, task forces, the INTOSAI Development Initiative (IDI), or this Journal, all are focusing on how they can align their planning and related programs and activities with the strategic plan and raise the organization to greater heights.
The Governing Board's Finance and Administration Committee has been at the center of the plan's implementation. We have convened three meetings since the plan was adopted-Vienna in January 2005, Washington in July 2005, and Riyadh in February 2006. A summary of the outcomes of our most recent meeting in Riyadh-attended by the auditors general of all seven member countries-reflects the progress we are making on many fronts. The following issues were discussed in Riyadh, and the committee agreed on specific recommendations that will be considered by the Governing Board at its annual meeting in November 2006 in Mexico City.
Framework for Dealing with External Funding
The committee's discussion on this topic was grounded in two concepts: the value of developing strategic partnerships with international development organizations sharing INTOSAI's values and objectives and the need for INTOSAI to adopt a standard approach to working with donors. Underlying this discussion was the clear recognition that INTOSAI must maintain its independence from donors in both fact and appearance and that such partnerships should not have any direct or perceived conflict of interest with INTOSAI and its core values. A resolution on this issue was prepared for presentation to the board in November; it includes recommendations that (1) through its Governing Board, INTOSAI should maintain central decision-making authority and control over any matters to which the funding applies and (2) funding requests to donors by INTOSAI's enterprisewide bodies (including, but not limited to, committees, working groups, task forces, and central bodies such as the General Secretariat, the Journal, and IDI) should be coordinated centrally and in advance with INTOSAI's Governing Board and General Secretariat and with input from the Finance and Administration Committee.
Importantly, the committee recognized that INTOSAI's regional working groups must retain autonomy in dealing with donors (such as regional development banks) and will not be subject to the terms of this resolution. At the same time, we recognize the benefits of regional working groups sharing information on donor relations centrally and with other regional working groups. Of course, individual SAIs' relations with donors and bilateral-related matters remain outside the scope of the committee's recommended policy.
Communications Policy and Tools
India has taken the lead on these issues in its role as board liaison for goal 3, knowledge sharing. We had an excellent discussion on these issues, and all delegates expressed appreciation to India for the quality of the draft global communications policy it has prepared. Much of our discussion focused on the benefits of distinguishing between external and internal communications, with an emphasis on establishing a clear and coordinated approach to external communications. In this context, the committee noted more than once the importance of INTOSAI's (1) establishing itself as a recognized expert in the fields of accountability, transparency, and governance and (2) becoming a more visible and active player on the international stage.
Regarding the proposed collaboration tool, some questions were raised about cost and content, and India will conduct a user survey to assess the commitment of INTOSAI's bodies to using the proposed tool. At the same time, a number of delegates stressed the importance of linking all SAIs to the Internet.
Associate Membership in INTOSAI
As with the earlier agenda items, we again had a very good discussion on the important question of associate membership. After considerable deliberation, the committee agreed on recommending a phased-in approach to accepting associate members, with three criteria for entities seeking associate membership: they must be (1) international organizations that operate on a global scale, (2) organizations directly or indirectly involved in such issues as accountability, transparency, anticorruption, and governance, and (3) governmental, nonprofit, or not-for-profit organizations. Based on these criteria, a list of potential associate members is being developed for the Board's consideration.
Financial Matters
The Secretary General updated the committee on INTOSAI's financial situation. He highlighted the fact that the Board had adopted earlier recommendations made by the Finance and Administration Committee and that INTOSAI's Financial Rules and
Regulations had been revised to reflect these changes. The matter of INTOSAI dues was also discussed. It was noted that the strategic plan mandated that the committee address this issue and that INTOSAI membership dues have not been raised since 1983. The committee asked the General Secretariat to propose alternate scenarios and agreed on an option that will be presented first to the Board in 2006 and then to the full membership at the 2007 INTOSAI Congress in Mexico. The option acknowledges the basic principle that any increase for those SAIs least able to absorb it would be less than that for other SAIs and that dues for all SAIs would be subject to indexing for inflation every 3 years.
Update on Capacity Building Committee's Interaction with
Donors
In his role as board liaison to the Capacity Building Committee (CBC), Mr. Walker reported that he and Dr. Ahmed El-Midaoui, CBC Chairman and President of the
Cour des Comptes of Morocco, met with top officials of international and national development organizations in Washington last October to discuss opportunities for strategic partnerships with INTOSAI. The meetings supported the strategic plan's mandate that the committee "develop partnerships with international development organizations, consistent with INTOSAI's independence requirements." In each meeting, there was general agreement that INTOSAI and the donors shared common goals on issues such as accountability, governance, transparency, and anticorruption and that the timing is right to further develop strategic partnerships.
Possible Revenue from Publication Sales and Training Fees
Mr. Kosmo, Auditor General of Norway, summarized a paper on this subject by recommending that INTOSAI publications and training remain available free of charge.
Mr. Kosmo stated that those SAIs most in need of the publications are also those least able to pay for them. In addition, with the increased use of the Internet and related technology, the publications are available at no cost on the World Wide Web and should remain so. The committee fully agreed with this conclusion and pointed out that the issue could be revisited in the future if the board wants to consider charging nonmembers for these products. It was also noted once again that all SAIs need to be connected to the Internet.
Other Business
Before the meeting concluded, Mr. Walker raised the issue of performance indicators in connection with the strategic plan, noting the importance of INTOSAI, as an accountability organization, measuring and reporting on its progress. Delegates agreed with the concept, and the Secretary General reported that he and the Director of Strategic Planning, Dr. Klaus-Henning Busse, had already begun planning for performance measures. They will continue to develop a plan for this effort and will circulate it to Finance and Administration Committee members in the coming months for review and comment. They will also report to the Board on the plan at the November meeting. Mr. Walker also made a brief presentation on plans for transforming the Journal that include a more dynamic Internet presence. A number of delegates offered useful suggestions that Journal management will take into consideration as the transformation project develops in the coming months. As we implement the strategic plan, the same principles that were key to its development-consultation, compromise, and consensus-are very much at play. For example, the work of the Finance and Administration Committee is truly a team effort, with each SAI working hard to ensure progress. The purpose of the strategic plan is to take INTOSAI and our individual SAIs to a higher level of capacity for oversight, insight, and foresight. Clearly, activities across INTOSAI to date are helping to move us all toward that goal while at the same time building bridges between our institutions.