International Journal of Government Auditing – January 2010
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In the January issue of the Journal, I wrote about progress in updating the strategic plan for 2011–2016 after the Strategic Planning Task Force met and the Governing Board commented on the draft. I received the first round of comments—from the task force and INTOSAI members—last autumn. In cooperation with the Secretary General, the goal chairs, and the task force chair, I have incorporated those comments into the revised draft.
I appreciate all the contributions being made to developing INTOSAI’s second strategic plan. We are now producing a new draft based on the task force members’ review, which is to be completed in the middle of April. After that, the new draft will be sent out to all member SAIs for a second hearing round. As you may know, I created a complementary document to the strategic plan, entitled INTOSAI’s Report on the Strategic Plan 2005–2010, which describes the results of the first strategic plan, its achievements, and its detailed organizational structure to date. This is the platform upon which we build our new plan. As we are finalizing the second strategic plan, I sense that we are all motivated by the plan’s purpose—to take INTOSAI and individual SAIs to a higher level of capacity. I believe that strategic activities throughout INTOSAI are helping us move toward that goal while, at the same time, building bridges between our institutions.
At the end of March and beginning of April, I participated in the 6th meeting of the Finance and Administration Committee in Caracas, the capital of Venezuela. I gave a short report on the strategic plan update. The committee responded positively to both this report and the work being done to develop the next strategic plan and stressed the importance of the plan in charting a path for INTOSAI over the next 6 years. Osama J. Faqeeh, Chair of the Finance and Administration Committee and President of the General Auditing Bureau of Saudi Arabia, commented that the efforts to ensure progress in developing the new strategic plan have truly been a team effort.
In Caracas, the Venezuelan audit office received us cordially and Clodosbaldo Russián, the Auditor General, organized the meeting in an effective and professional manner. We were able to explore some of the city and neighborhood. We learned about an interesting initiative the audit office had undertaken to renovate and restore a park that had fallen into disuse. The employees had volunteered their efforts for this work and, in return, were able to use it in their leisure time for sports and other outdoor activities, such as barbecues. This is an important aspect of our modern lives given the ever-increasing pressures on individuals in the work force that challenge the quality time families can spend together. This park will offer relief for both audit office staff and their families.
After a great deal of discussion in the preparatory stages, it was decided that the structure of the new strategic plan would remain the same as the previous one. As with the earlier plan, the new plan is based on the fundamentals contained in INTOSAI’s mission, vision, and goals, which, in turn, are based on INTOSAI’s seven core values:
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independence,
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integrity,
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professionalism,
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credibility,
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cooperation,
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innovation, and
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inclusiveness
The importance of these core values cannot be overemphasized. The first and most important is independence, which was underscored by the adoption of the Mexico Declaration on SAI Independence in 2007 and has been chosen as an area of focus within INTOSAI for 2010. Independence, which deals with the audit environment, and integrity, which deals with the auditors themselves, are the cornerstones upon which our profession is built. Based on these two cornerstones, we can achieve professionalism and credibility through cooperation, innovation, and inclusiveness.
In the 2011-2016 strategic planning period, INTOSAI will continue its work in a broad and diverse field of activities, but a number of key issues warrant its special focus in order to secure continued progress for both the organization and its members. Key strategic priorities for this period include reinforcing independence and professionalism in external government auditing and fostering adequate internal and external communication to meet the increasing public demand for oversight, accountability, and transparency. INTOSAI also needs to demonstrate the value and benefits of SAIs in good governance and development as well as the role of SAIs in fighting corruption. INTOSAI needs to further encourage close cooperation among regional working groups, SAIs, and international organizations in combating corruption.
In the October issue of this Journal, I briefly mentioned the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that INTOSAI and the donor community were scheduled to sign in Brussels later that month. Signing this MOU emphasized INTOSAI’s strategic focus on capacity building. The MOU establishes a partnership to strengthen SAI capacity to increase the effectiveness of SAIs as instruments in their countries of accountability, transparency, and good governance and as vehicles to fight corruption. As part of advancing the donor funding MOU, INTOSAI will make the development of strategic and development plans throughout the organization a high priority during the new strategic plan period. (See Inside INTOSAI in this issue for information on the initial implementation of this MOU.)
Please feel free to contact me at astrup@rechnungshof.gv.at if you have comments or would like to give feedback on issues related to implementing INTOSAI’s strategic plan.