A Century of Change: The Albanian SAI’s Journey to Independence and Modernization
As the independence of SAIs is the cornerstone of their ability to safeguard public resources, promote transparency, and strengthen trust in government, it is widely accepted in the international audit sphere that without institutional, financial and operational autonomy, audit findings and recommendations risk being influenced, underestimated, or ignored, undermining accountability. As such, through frameworks as the Lima and Mexico Declarations, it has been consistently affirmed that independent SAIs are essential pillars of democratic governance. Yet, independence is not a fixed state as it requires protection and adaption to dynamic realities.