International Journal of Government Auditing – July 2009
The importance of knowledge sharing cannot be stressed often enough. Sharing with and learning from each other directly mirrors the INTOSAI motto, “Mutual Experience Benefits All.” As I have participated in the steering committee and subcommittee meetings of INTOSAI’s strategic goal committees over the past 2 years, I have been able to observe a genuine team spirit and knowledge sharing in action. This team spirit has been reflected in the cooperation displayed while developing the strategic plan and the way in which draft products are exposed and open for comments. Because I come from a work culture where cooperation is highly valued and respected, this type of information and knowledge sharing is not new to me—it is the cornerstone of teamwork manifested in three key principles: a cooperative team spirit, openness, and respect for others. These principles help us perform tasks in an efficient and uniform manner.
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In the last issue of the Journal, I promised to write about knowledge sharing in this issue as the inaugural meeting of the Knowledge Sharing Steering Committee for INTOSAI’s strategic goal 3 was coming up as I was finishing my column. I greatly enjoyed participating in the meeting, which Vinod Rai, Comptroller and Auditor General of India chaired in an efficient and orderly manner.
Knowledge Sharing is a concept we probably interpret in various ways, and before I went to the New Delhi meeting, I took some time to think about it. We share knowledge all the time. In our youth, our teachers share their knowledge about subjects such as mathematics, geography, or history. When we read a novel, the author brings us into his or her imaginary world, and we often put ourselves in the place of one or more of the characters, sharing their knowledge and feelings. However, this is not what we have in mind when we talk about the overarching issue of knowledge sharing in connection with INTOSAI’s strategic plan. As stated in the plan, INTOSAI’s aim is to “encourage SAI cooperation, collaboration, and continuous improvement through knowledge sharing.”
The structure of the Knowledge Sharing Committee is now similar to that of the committees under the two other operational goals in the strategic plan. However, this committee is by far the biggest, with 104 participants under its umbrella. To give the reader some indication of the work areas under this goal, its nine working groups and the countries chairing them are listed below:
- Audit of Public Debt, Mexico
- Information Technology Audit, India
- Environmental Auditing, Estonia
- Privatization, Economic Regulation, and Public-Private Partnerships, United Kingdom
- Program Evaluation, France
- Fight Against International Money Laundering and Corruption, Egypt (as of June 2009)
- Accountability for and Audit of Disaster Related Aid, European Court of Audit
- Key National Indicators, Russian Federation
- Value and Benefits of SAIs, South Africa
In addition to the nine working groups, there are two task forces: INTOSAI Communication Strategy, chaired by the INTOSAI General Secretariat, and the Global Financial Crisis, chaired by the United States of America. This Journal is also part of INTOSAI strategic goal 3.
At the New Delhi meeting, the goal 3 working groups and task forces reported on their progress (see the “Inside INTOSAI” section of the April 2009 Journal for more information on their reports). I was happy to observe that the strategic plan continues to be implemented with great efficiency and broad-based support. The work of the working groups and task forces is very impressive, and the topics are important for both INTOSAI as a whole and individual SAIs. The work includes conducting best practice studies, producing audit guidance material, and performing research on issues of mutual interest and concern. It also covers tools for benchmarks and communication that encourage knowledge sharing among SAIs.
The meetings included many good discussions about the work ahead and what has been achieved. Much of the creative work within these working groups and task forces involves capturing and collecting the knowledge within the group and making it visible and accessible to others. Magnus Borge, the Director General of the INTOSAI Development Initiative (IDI), stated that when IDI was preparing its strategic plan for 2007–2012, its focus changed from information sharing to knowledge sharing as a result of a growing understanding of the distinction between the two. IDI views information as patterns extracted from a data set, while knowledge is actionable information or the capacity to act. IDI determined that knowledge sharing is only one of the four components of knowledge management—the others being creating, capturing, and applying knowledge.
I believe it is important to keep all the different components of knowledge management in mind. Understandably, we have to create and capture knowledge before we can share it. Also, we need to concentrate on the fourth component—applying knowledge—and avoid the tendency to substitute knowledge for information and carry on as if they were the same thing. As I see it, the challenge for INTOSAI and individual SAIs is making shared knowledge part of our own knowledge base and applying it productively to improve our individual and organizational performance and achieve our organizational goal of becoming a model international organization.
In the October issue of the Journal, I plan to write about some aspects of SAI capacity building, goal 2 of the strategic plan.
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 the implementation of INTOSAI’s strategic plan.