Tag: Israel

Audit institutions serve as guardians of transparency and accountability in various societies around the world. Yet for too long, their work has remained cloaked in dense language, legal references, and technical jargon that are largely inaccessible to the general public. While audit reports contain findings that can impact every citizen—from public transportation delays to failures in health systems—most people never read them. In an age where information is expected to be instantaneous, visual, and emotionally resonant, audit institutions around the world must reimagine how they present their work.

At the 25th International Congress of Supreme Audit Institutions (INCOSAI), delegates focused on a critical issue facing today’s public institutions: understanding the role Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) should play in auditing central banks and government activities during financial and economic crises.

The global climate crisis poses significant threats including water scarcity, extreme weather events, and impacts on agriculture, food security and human health. Israel’s geographical location magnifies these risks as being a ‘Hot Spot’. Various governmental bodies, such as the Ministries of Finance, Environmental Protection, Energy, Transportation, Economy, Agriculture, Defense, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), and the Planning Administration within the Ministry of Interior, have different responsibilities for addressing climate change. 

In a 1995 case against Israel’s State Comptroller, the Israeli Supreme Court stated in its ruling that the “Comptroller has no discretion as to whether it should commit itself to the task of preparing an opinion as required of it; it is a mandatory obligation,” and directed the Comptroller to render an opinion on the required subjects.
Nearly a quarter of a century later, the Comptroller’s office, the nation’s Supreme Audit Institution…