International Journal of Government Auditing–October 2006
Professional Standards Committee Advances Goal 1
The Steering Committee of INTOSAI's Professional Standards Committee (PSC) met in Cameroon on September 5–6, 2006, to prepare a survey on the application of international professional auditing standards and guidelines among SAIs. The survey is part of the PSC's own strategic plan and will provide the basis for formulating the PSC's new mandate for 2007–2010. The survey will focus on identifying areas where existing standards and guidelines do not meet the needs of SAIs, and areas relevant to SAIs where no guidance yet exists. In this effort, the PSC's aim is to build on the work of other standard-setting organizations around the world. The survey will be sent to all SAIs through electronic and ordinary mail in November and December 2006.
The steering committee previewed the draft Framework of INTOSAI Professional Standards that will be presented to the Governing Board in November 2006 and then circulated as an exposure draft with the survey. The framework is intended to provide a better overview of existing INTOSAI guidance material. A draft electronic version is now available at www.issai.org.
Other committee news discussed at the meeting includes the following:
- The Subcommittee on SAI Independence developed a draft Charter on SAI Independence that will be presented to the Governing Board in November and then circulated to INTOSAI members as an exposure draft.
- The Financial Audit Guidelines Subcommittee (FAS), in collaboration with some of the world's leading experts, is preparing practice notes to International Standards on Auditing (ISA) under the leadership of the Swedish SAI. For additional FAS information, see "Inside INTOSAI."
- A Compliance Audit Reference Group has been established to coordinate the work of FAS and the Compliance Audit Subcommittee.
- In the first meeting of the Subcommittee on Performance Audit Guidelines, held in Brasilia on August 8–9, terms of reference and a work plan to meet the requirements of its mandate were agreed upon. See "Inside INTOSAI" for additional information on the subcommittee.
- The PSC is launching a project, chaired by the SAI of France, to collect examples of best practices in transparency and accountability. All SAIs are invited to contribute examples.
The Yaoundé meeting was generously hosted by the SAI of Cameroon, under the leadership of the auditor general, Siegfried David Etame Massoma. The next meeting will take place on April 23–24, 2007, in Bahrain. For further information about the PSC and its work, please visit its Web site: http://psc.rigsrevisionen.dk/.
November Governing Board to Focus on Strategic Plan Implementation
The results of the Governing Board's deliberations on a wide variety of strategic plan implemention issues—including financial, membership, and communications issues— will be presented in "Spotlight on the Strategic Plan" in the January 2007 issue of the Journal.