By: INTOSAI Journal

Last year, a law was enacted to strengthen Peru’s Supreme Audit Institution (SAI) and National Control System (NCS), marking a historic milestone in the fight against corruption in the Peruvian State. Since then, SAI Peru has…

Preventing fraud and corruption are major challenges facing governments, particularly those of developing countries. Government inability to establish effective internal audit and financial control systems and adequately establish or resource organizations charged with identifying fraud and corruption are just some causes of fraudulent and corrupt behavior. While no system exists to entirely avert fraud and corruption…

Corruption and financial fraud are very challenging issues within the banking system that can inflict irreparable harm to a nation’s development and growth. The potential widespread and destructive effects can reduce social capital and increase poverty, social injustice and class divisions. The banking system will continue to face these issues far into the future until successful counteraction initiatives are implemented…

Dr. Mari Kobayashi assumed the Presidency of Japan’s Board of Audit (BOA) on December 7, 2018. She succeeds Mr. Teruhiko Kawato, who retired from office on October 22, 2018. Prior to assuming her position as BOA President…

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) Supreme Audit Institution (SAI) hosted the first Asian Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (ASOSAI) meeting on using big data analysis in reviewing national Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) implementation. The event was held at SAI UAE headquarters in Abu Dhabi and included delegates from…

In September 2015, nearly all United Nations (UN) member countries committed to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—global goals created to steer policy making and development funding until 2030. Each goal is comprised of targets, and each target is further refined through one or two indicators designed to measure progress. Though global targets and indicators have been established for each goal…

Audit methodology experts from nearly 30 European Organizations of Supreme Audit Institutions (EUROSAI) SAIs gathered in Warsaw, Poland, late last year to attend the region’s inaugural Audit Methodology meeting. Some 60 delegates participated in the two-day event hosted by SAI Poland to discuss…

The International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) Subcommittee on Cooperative Audits has developed a self-instructive virtual course, “Guidelines for the Execution of Cooperative Audits,” earlier this year to address…

To achieve positive, long-term outcomes, James-Christian Blockwood, Managing Director of the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) Strategic Planning and External Liaison (SPEL) office, believes creatively and critically thinking about emerging trends and future challenges and collaborating with experts are necessary efforts…

Some citizens do not contribute to the common public good. This global phenomenon, free-riding, is widespread, often manifesting itself in several forms, such as not voting in elections or evading taxes. States themselves may also be guilty of free-riding (when not paying proportional contributions to help solve international problems yet still reaping the benefits of positive outcomes). Is free-riding really detrimental to anyone…

Ms. Goh Soon Poh was appointed Auditor General of Singapore on February 8, 2018, by the President of Singapore. She succeeds Mr. Tan Yoke Meng Willie, who retired on the same date. Prior to joining the Auditor General’s Office (AGO)…

The International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI)-Donor Cooperation (Cooperation) kicked off the year with a new support structure and a closer cooperation with the INTOSAI Development Initiative (IDI). The INTOSAI Donor Secretariat, which has been supporting the Cooperation for the past nine years, will be…

Supreme Audit Institutions (SAI) working in complex and challenging contexts often deal with enormous challenges, yet they still find a way to carry out audit work despite the conditions. The International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) Capacity Building Committee (CBC) has established a workstream to support these SAIs. A key workstream initiative is to…

The Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic of Peru, Peru’s Supreme Audit Institution (SAI) hosted the 2018 Annual International Integrity Conference (CAII) in Lima in December. The conference…

Jamaica’s Supreme Audit Institution (SAI) hosted the Caribbean Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (CAROSAI) 30th Anniversary Conference August 15-17, 2018. The three-day conference celebrated the theme “Building the Future on the Foundations of the Past” and included…

A key decision of the 2017 European Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (EUROSAI) Congress was that one-year project groups could be established by State Audit Institutions (SAIs). The State Audit Office (SAO) of Hungary took this opportunity and created…

On November 9, 2018, Dr. Mari Kobayashi, Acting President of the Board of Audit of Japan (the Board), submitted the Fiscal Year 2017 audit report to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The audit report, containing results on audits the Board conducted in 2017-2018, includes…

Auditors love words! Having served as an auditor for more than 10 years, it seems that words tend to be a source of comfort and confidence, and we, as auditors, rely on words when attempting to get our message across to readers. At the same time, we realize those reading our reports are probably suffering from…

The 2018 Organization of Latin American and Caribbean Supreme Audit Institutions (OLACEFS) General Assembly was hosted by the Argentinian Supreme Audit Institution (SAI) October 9-12, 2018. The week-long event, held in Buenos Aires, included SAIs, international cooperation agencies, and key stakeholders spanning the globe…

“You must run to keep in place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that.”—Red Queen theory of evolution. Traditionally, audits, based on accounting standards, have focused on financial statement accuracy and regularity. In the area of public audit, the traditional approach also…

Public audit aims to enhance good governance by promoting transparency and accountability in governmental financial affairs. Throughout the audit process, identifying any weaknesses and gaps is crucial, particularly pertaining to legal compliance; internal control; revenue assessment and collection; budget, public procurement and project management; and…

In 2019, the fourth peer review of the National Audit Office of Lithuania (NAOL) will begin. The peer review team—European Court of Auditors (ECA) (team leader), Supreme Audit Office of Poland and National Audit Office (NAO) of the United Kingdom—will assess…