ISSAI Background Information

In November 2010, at the 20th Congress of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI), members agreed on the Declaration of South Africa, which calls on auditing bodies to use the International Standards Framework as a benchmark for auditing the public sector, and a basis on which to measure their own performance and audit focus.

International Standards of Supreme Audit Institutions are addressed by INTOSAI in its Strategic Plan 2017-2022 (Strategic Goal 1), under the leadership of the Professional Standards Committee (PSC). The so-called ISSAIs state the fundamental prerequisites for the proper functioning of SAIs and the fundamental principles for auditing public entities. They also include recommendations on legal, organizational and professional prerequisites, as well as guidance on the conduct of auditors and examples or descriptions of good practices.

All the additional standards and texts that make up, or will be incorporated into the framework are developed and maintained in accordance with a due process, specifically a series of strict and systematized technical review procedures involving different relevant INTOSAI bodies.

In 2016, at the 22nd INTOSAI Congress, new standards were adopted and important innovations in setting standards were approved. One of these was the approval of a project to review the organization’s regulatory framework, which is currently ongoing.

At regional level, various activities have been carried out to address this global call. At the 22nd OLACEFS Ordinary General Assembly, held in November 2012 in Gramado, Brazil, plenary members agreed to adopt, adapt and implement ISSAIs, recognizing the benefits of using the standards for performing their duties. The members also agreed to set up a temporary body to follow up on the adoption and regional implementation of the standards.

Subsequently, at the 56th Meeting of the OLACEFS Board, held in Brasilia in January 2013, the Working Group for the Application of International Auditing Standards (GTANIA) was created. The activities undertaken by GTANIA included translating and adapting to a regional context the Strategy for Awareness Raising of the INTOSAI Regulatory Framework, designed by the PSC. The strategy includes, amongst other activities, jointly generating resources and materials, publishing articles relating to ISSAIs, and offering induction courses.

In March 2014, the INTOSAI Development Initiative, IDI, in conjunction with the former GTANIA and the OLACEFS Presidency, launched the ISSAI Implementation Initiative (3i Program) regionally, developed by IDI, the PSC and INTOSAI’s Capacity Building Committee to optimize capacities in INTOSAI’s Regional Organizations in order to implement the standards.

In OLACEFS, efforts have been made to implement global and regional initiatives aimed at SAIs carrying out their audit work and strengthening their institutions based on the requirements and best practices established by the ISSAIs. These initiatives include the implementation of the Supreme Audit Institutions Performance Measurement Framework (SAI-PMF), promoted regionally by the Commission for Performance Evaluation of SAIs and Performance indicators (CEDEIR); the Tool for the Self-Assessment of Integrity (IntoSAINT), led by the Technical Commission on Good Governance Practices (CTPBG), and the coordinated audits carried out by OLACEFS various technical bodies.

When GTANIA’s mandate had run its course, follow-up on the regional implementation of the ISSAIs was entrusted to the OLACEFS Presidency, held by Mexico’s SAI for the period 2016-2018. The decision was taken at the the 25th OLACEFS Ordinary General Assembly held in November 2015, in Querétaro, Mexico.

Currently OLACEFS addresses the follow-up to the regional implementation ISSAIs in accordance with its Strategic Plan 2017-2022, Strategic Goal 4, to “promote the implementation of international standards and good practices in supreme audit”.

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