Tag: innovation

Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) and the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) have increasingly positioned themselves as key actors in advancing sustainable development. Successive INTOSAI strategic plans (2017–2022 and 2023–2028) identify the contribution of SAIs to the implementation, follow-up, and review of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a strategic priority. This longstanding commitment has provided an enabling institutional framework that has stimulated numerous initiatives— often supported by the INTOSAI Development Initiative (IDI) — and yielded a growing set of tools, methodologies, and audit reports across diverse sectors and SDG targets.

Created in 1990, the Territorial Chamber of Accounts of French Polynesia has been based in Papeete (Tahiti) since 2000. Since then, as a supreme audit institution (SAI), it has carried out its judicial and audit functions. With a total staff of 13, including six magistrates, it contributes to informing citizens and improving local public management.

Office of the Auditor General of Somalia (OAGS) has achieved a significant milestone by implementing a digital Contract Management System (CMS), representing a pivotal step toward promoting transparency, accountability, and operational efficiency across public institutions. As part of a broader public financial management reform agenda, the CMS signals Somalia’s commitment to modernising governance structures and aligns with the global drive to digitalise public sector oversight. This experience offers valuable lessons to other members of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI), particularly those in developing or fragile states where building transparent systems remains a pressing priority.

Some Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) have been implementing the Concurrent Control, a process created by the SAI of Peru, as it is a valuable tool for control of large projects. However, it is appropriate to raise innovative proposals aimed at improving the process of concurrent control in order to improve adverse situations identified by government auditors. Based on the lessons learned to date, it is important to improve the levels of effectiveness and efficiency in their interventions, with the goal of replicating their effect on the control by other SAIs that have decided to implement similar controls.

Assessing infrastructure resilience is key to mitigating risks, enhancing service delivery, and ensuring long-term value for citizens. Rigorous audits allow us to identify areas for improvement, strengthen governance, promote accountability, and optimize resource utilization. Given the pressures of urbanization, climate change, and technological progress, infrastructure planning and management must be forward-thinking, inclusive, and adaptive to evolving challenges.

In recent years, the General Court of Audit (GCA), Saudi Arabia’s Supreme Audit Institution (SAI), has undertaken measures to bolster its framework, aiming to elevate its oversight capacity with a focus on objectivity, efficiency, and professionalism. Embracing a proactive stance, the GCA is committed to adapting to the swift evolution in financial auditing and performance oversight. GCA leveraged a modern technologies and methodologies to conduct audits with heightened effectiveness and quality, ensuring alignment with contemporary standards and practices. On the other hand, government agencies and ministries within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s public sector have also undergone significant transformations in recent years. These efforts are aligned with the ambitious goals outlined in Vision 2030 of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which aims to diversify the economy, enhance public sector efficiency, and promote sustainable development. 

Through their work, Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) are compelled to promote positive changes in people’s lives. To achieve this purpose, auditing stands out as one of the most important tools at SAIs’ disposal to increase the public value generation. By carrying out audits, a SAI can evaluate whether processes are executed in compliance with established norms, identify performance improvements (under the usual principles of effectiveness, efficiency, and economy), or conclude on the financial information of an entity.

The Government Accountability Office—the United States Supreme Audit Institution—established its Innovation Lab in 2019 as a research entity dedicated to exploration and experimentation of data science techniques and emerging technologies. The goal is to amplify GAO’s oversight capabilities across the evolving web 3.0 landscape. The INTOSAI Journal recently joined the Lab for a tour of the facility at GAO headquarters where an entrepreneurial team of data scientists, technologists, and analysts come together collaboratively across a portfolio of novel projects ranging from deployment of large language models to use of extended reality.

The Capacity Building Committee (CCC) of the Organization of Latin American and Caribbean Supreme Audit Institutions (OLACEFS) launched the 2022-2024 OLACEFS Training Plan, which contemplates the offer of capacity building initiatives for the three-year period. 

The Commission on Audit (COA), the Supreme Audit Institution (SAI) of the Philippines, won first place at the professional level in the Hackathon BPK Competition—whose theme was…

On May 11, 2021, the European Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (EUROSAI) IT Working Group organized an e-seminar, “From Code to Action: SAIs in the World of AI,“ attended by 250 participants from 50 Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) around the world. The aim of the event was to…

During the pandemic, the Commission on Information Technologies and Communications (CTIC) of the Organization of Latin American and Caribbean Supreme Audit Institutions (OLACEFS) has helped the region’s Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) carry out their work in various ways. To help the region’s SAIs continue to hold events and perform tasks remotely…

Technological advances have impacted the work of most SAIs, and emerging technologies have the potential to further shape the ways in which SAIs contribute to good governance. SAIs are at different stages in their technological journeys, and their use of technology may be affected by…

The Turkish Court of Accounts (TCA), which has a tradition dating back more than a thousand years, celebrated its 158th Anniversary this year with a heavy heart as the entire world lives under the shadow of the COVID-19 Pandemic. The pandemic created a “new normal” forcing Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) and governments alike to…

In July 2020, the Supreme Audit Office of the Slovak Republic (SAO SR) developed a new interactive analytical tool called the Municipalities on Map (MuMAP). The application…

Potential useful data is piling up everywhere. Scientific and Technological (S&T) advances are happening quickly and are, just as quickly, becoming difficult to follow. Discussions on topics—such as audit automation, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain—abound, as does advice to move everything to the infamous cloud, and these trends are certainly impacting…

From snapshots to stamps, the XXIII INCOSAI—a bridge helping us get to where we want to be—featured new and interactive ways to enhance our journey toward progress…

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…

The Federal Court of Accounts, Brazil’s Supreme Audit Institution (SAI), developed a quiz on International Standards of Supreme Audit Institutions (ISSAIs) as a new way to engage its auditors while deepening knowledge on professional auditing standards. The quiz, which also included questions on the SAI itself, saw 475 auditors competing in…

The State Audit Bureau of Kuwait (SAB) hosted the “The State Audit Bureau Youth Forum…

The need to optimize, modernize and extend the current metro network is rigorous and is generated by a number of factors including: Estimated population growth dynamics of Bucharest…