| Goal 4 Report |
Model International Organization
Osama Faquih, Chairman of the INTOSAI Finance and Administration Committee, reported on the committee's efforts since its establishment at the Budapest congress in 2004. As specified in the strategic plan, the committee's mandate is to help the Chairman of the board and the board itself to "organize and govern INTOSAI in ways that promote economical, efficient and effective working practices, timely decision-making, and effective governance practices, while maintaining due regard for regional autonomy, balance and the different models and approaches of member SAIs."
Osama Faquih, Chair of the Finance and
Administration Committee, presented the goal
4 report to the congress.
Mr. Faquih noted that the committee had actively pursued its mandate through a series of annual meetings in Budapest, Washington, Riyadh, and Oslo, and he expressed his appreciation to committee members for their hard work, dedication, and support. In addition to Saudi Arabia, the auditors general of the following countries served on the committee from 2004-2007: the United States of America (vice-chairman), India, Norway, and Venezuela. The Secretary General of INTOSAI served as an ex-officio member, and the Auditor General of Korea, in his capacity as immediate past Chairman of the board and a member of the strategic planning task force, served as an ex-officio member for a one-time, 3-year period.
Significant Accomplishments between Congresses
Mr. Faquih summarized the committee initiatives that the board had already approved and implemented since the committee was established in 2004. The first initiative was the recruitment and selection of Klaus-Henning Busse of Germany as the INTOSAI Director of Strategic Planning for 2005-2007. He was succeeded by Kirsten Astrup of Norway for a 3-year period beginning at the XIX INCOSAI when the Governing Board confirmed her to that post. Second, goal chairs and liaison were selected for all four goals in the strategic plan. Third, modern technology has been increasingly used to facilitate decision-making between annual board meetings and triennial congresses. To that end, the Governing Board allocated funds to the SAI of India to develop a Web-based communication tool that is now operational and available on the INTOSAI Web site.
Kirsten Astrup of Norway (left) and Klaus-
Henning Busse of Germany (right) are
INTOSAI’s incoming and outgoing Directors of
Strategic Planning.
Fourth, INTOSAI revenues and discretionary and nondiscretionary expenditures were reviewed and adjusted to strengthen INTOSAI's financial position. The following steps were taken: reducing the budget allocation to this Journal, holding the United Nations/INTOSAI seminar every 2 years instead of annually, charging registration/attendance fees for congresses, considering inviting vendors/professional firms to exhibit at congresses for a fee, and applying graduated sanctions to those SAIs in arrears for their annual assessment
Other results achieved since the 2004 Congress included
- developing a global communications policy,
- developing an integrated strategic framework and policy for dealing with external donors,
- confirming the international legal status of INTOSAI,
- establishing criteria for regional working group membership, and
- recommending that INTOSAI publications and training courses remain free of charge.
Congress Adopted Additional Committee Recommendations
The Finance and Administration Committee report concluded by presenting three important issues for deliberation and vote by the congress: membership dues, associate membership status, and an update to the strategic plan.
Membership Dues
The issue of membership assessments had been deliberated and debated by the board at each of its meetings since Budapest and had been analyzed by the Finance and Administration Committee with the assistance of the General Secretariat. The board noted that INTOSAI membership assessments had not been increased since 1983 and that increased revenues are needed to maintain INTOSAI's stable financial condition and continue to implement the strategic plan. The General Secretariat developed different scenarios to increase annual revenues by 100,000 euros, and the board endorsed the proposal to raise dues beginning in January 2008.
Associate Membership
With regard to associate membership, the strategic plan recognizes the value to be gained from opportunities to increase partnerships with interested organizations, expand involvement of nonmember accountability organizations, and enhance INTOSAI's knowledge base. As a result, INTOSAI's membership was expanded to include supranational supreme audit institutions, and the strategic plan called for the new category of associate member to be created. The Finance and Administration Committee analyzed this issue, and the board discussed it thoroughly at its 2005 and 2006 meetings. The board endorsed, and the congress approved, the following criteria. To be considered for associate membership, organizations must be
- international and operate on a global scale;
- directly or indirectly involved in areas such as accountability, transparency, anticorruption, or governance;
- governmental, nonprofit, or not-for-profit; and
- nonpolitical and have broad-based support within the INTOSAI community.
Strategic Planning
The third major initiative adopted by the congress was to update the INTOSAI strategic plan. The board noted with satisfaction that the current strategic plan-adopted in Budapest for 2005-2010-has served INTOSAI well. As a result, the board recommended updating the current plan rather than developing a new strategic plan for 2011-2016. Further, the board recommended that the statement of INTOSAI's mission, vision, and goals in the current plan remain the same in the updated plan, even though the activities and programs supporting each of the four goals would likely change in some cases. The congress unanimously adopted these recommendations.
The INTOSAI Secretariat is a key player in implementing
goal 4. Pictured here are (left to right) Reinhard Rath,
Secretary General Josef Moser, and Monika Gonzalez.
The methodology for updating the plan will adhere to the principles of consultation and consensus that were essential to developing and adopting the current plan. However, rather than establishing a 10-nation task force-as was done in 2001-the Finance and Administration Committee established a task force to update the plan at its meeting in Mexico during the congress. The United States will chair the task force and will collaborate with the chairs of the goals, the relevant goal liaisons, the Secretary General, the Director of Strategic Planning, and the board. Importantly, the task force will also consult with the regional working group secretariats. As the updated plan is developed, all members SAIs will have the opportunity to review and comment on it before the plan is presented to the 2010 congress in South Africa.
Osama Faquih, Chair (left), conferred with
Vice-Chair David M. Walker of the United States.
Next Steps
With changes in the membership of the Governing Board and new roles for some members, the board elected the following SAIs to serve on the Finance and Administration Committee for the next 3-year period: Saudi Arabia, Chair; United States, Vice-Chair; Norway; Venezuela; and China. The Secretary General and Hungary (as immediate past board chair) will serve as ex-officio members. The committee is scheduled to meet in Washington on March 17, 2008.