Contents

International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions

International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions

Abbreviation	INTOSAI
Formation	1953; 71 years ago (1953)
Type	IGO
Headquarters	Vienna, Austria
Secretary General	Margit Kraker[1]
Website	www.intosai.org

The International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) is an intergovernmental organization whose members are supreme audit institutions. Nearly every supreme audit institution in the world is a member of INTOSAI. Depending on the type of system used in their home country, the members of INTOSAI may be variously titled the Chief Financial Controller, the Office of the Comptroller General, the Office of the Auditor General, the Court of Accounts, or the Board of Audit.

INTOSAI holds a triennial conference entitled the International Congress of Supreme Audit Institutions (INCOSAI).^[2] It publishes the quarterly International Journal of Government Auditing and publishes guidelines and international standards on auditing.

History[edit]

INTOSAI was founded in 1953^[3]inHavana, Cuba.^[4] Thirty-four audit organizations formed the group originally and as of 2010 the current membership includes 193 institutions (188 national institutions, the European Court of Auditors and 4 associated members).^[3]

The members of INTOSAI are the primary external auditors of the United Nations.^[4] The UN's General Assembly appoints the UN Board of Auditors (3 members appointed for 6 years) among the INTOSAI member representatives.^[5]

The ISSAIs, International Standards of Supreme Audit Institutions[edit]

The International Standards of Supreme Audit Institutions (ISSAI) are a benchmark for auditing public entities (External Audit Standards for public entities).

The "INTOSAI Auditing Standards" had been approved by the INCOSAI in 1998 and updated in 2001. In its strategic plan 2005–2010, the INTOSAI decided to "provide an up-to-date framework of professional standards", so the INTOSAI Professional Standards Committee decided to merge the existing and new INTOSAI standards and guidelines into a framework.

The framework comprises all documents endorsed by INCOSAI with the purpose of guiding the professional standards used by SAIs

The list of ISSAIs is in the table below:

• Auditing Standards (ISSAI-numbers of 3 digits) stipulate general principles and postulates for carrying out the audit work;
• Implementation Guidelines (ISSAI-numbers of 4 digits) give more detailed guidance, practical assistance to SAIs in implementing the Standards in their individual constituents.

The three main types of public-sector audit[edit]

Financial Audit[edit]

Financial audit focuses on determining whether an entity’s financial information is presented in accordance with the applicable financial reporting and regulatory framework. This is accomplished by obtaining sufficient and appropriate audit evidence to enable the auditor to express an opinion as to whether the financial information is free from material misstatement due to fraud or error.

Performance Audit[edit]

Performance audit focuses on whether interventions, programmes and institutions are performing in accordance with the principles of economy, efficiency and effectiveness and whether there is room for improvement. Performance is examined against suitable criteria, and the causes of deviations from those criteria or other problems are analysed. The aim is to answer key audit questions and to provide recommendations for improvement.

Compliance Audit[edit]

Compliance audit focuses on whether a particular subject matter is in compliance with authorities identified as criteria. Compliance auditing is performed by assessing whether activities, financial transactions and information are, in all material respects, in compliance with the authorities which govern the audited entity. These authorities may include rules, laws and regulations, budgetary resolutions, policy, established codes, agreed terms or the general principles governing sound public sector financial management and the conduct of public officials.

Examples of publications[edit]

Examples of its major publications are:

• Guidelines for Internal Control Standards for the Public Sector (1992 - The current text is the 2004 revision by the INTOSAI Internal Control Standards Committee, approved by the XVIIIth INCOSAI of October 2004. It has been subsequently integrated in the INTOSAI standards/guidances as "INTOSAI GOV 9100"). It relies upon the COSO's integrated framework for internal control (as stated in the preface), and uses the COSO's definition of Internal Control and IIA's definition of Internal Audit.
• Guidelines on Best Practice for the Audit of Privatizations, (1998)
• Guidance for Planning an Audit of Internal Controls for Public Debt, (2002)

Adoption by intergovernmental organizations[edit]

In addition to the INTOSAI members (the Supreme Audit Institutions), the following intergovernmental organizations have adopted INTOSAI AS:

• Council of Europe
• European Communities
  • The European Court of Auditors performs its audits in accordance with the IFAC and INTOSAI Auditing Standards and Codes of ethics, in so far as these are applicable in the European Community context.^[6]
• European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts
  • Audit by two appointed Supreme Audit Institutions.
• European Space Agency
  • Audit by an Audit Board composed of Supreme Audit Institutions auditors.
• EUMETSAT
  • Audit by an appointed Supreme Audit Institution.
• International Criminal Police Organization
• North Atlantic Treaty Organization
• Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
  • Audit by a Supreme Audit Institution.
• The United Nations
  • The United Nations' Board of Auditors (the external audit of the UN) has adopted the ISAs^[7] (International Standards on Auditing). The Board is composed of three Supreme Audit Institutions chairmen, familiar with and usually using the INTOSAI Auditing Standards.^[8]

INTOSAI and Internal Audit[edit]

The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) is among the five associated members of the INTOSAI.^[9] The INTOSAI is a strong advocate for the establishment of Independent Internal auditinpublic entities.

• ISSAI 1610 – Using the Work of Internal Auditors
• INTOSAI Guidance for Good governance: INTOSAI GOVs 9100–9230

The guidance "INTOSAI GOV 9100" states:

• (page 46) "The Supreme Audit Institution also has a vested interest in ensuring that strong internal audit units exist where needed. Those audit units constitute an important element of internal control by providing a continuous means for improving an organisation's operations. In some countries, however, the internal audit units may lack independence, be weak, or be non-existent. In those cases, the SAI should, whenever possible, offer assistance and guidance to establish and develop those capacities and to ensure the independence of the internal auditor's activities."
• "The creation of an internal audit unit as part of the internal control system is a strong signal by management that internal control is important. ... For an internal audit function to be effective, it is essential that the internal audit staff be independent from management, work in an unbiased, correct and honest way and that they report directly to the highest level of authority within the organisation. ... "For professional guidance, internal auditors should use the Professional Practices Framework (PPF) of the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) (...) Additionally, internal auditors should follow the INTOSAI Code of Ethics".

Regional working groups[edit]

• AFROSAI: African Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions
• ARABOSAI: Arab Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions
• ASOSAI: Asian Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions
• CAROSAI: Caribbean Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions
• EUROSAI: European Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions. For more information please see website.
• OLACEFS: Organization of Latin American and Caribbean Supreme Audit Institutions. For more information please see website
• PASAI: Pacific Association of Supreme Audit Institutions

List of INTOSAI Conferences[edit]

INCOSAI	Place	Date	Host	Information
I	Havana, Cuba	November 1953	Ministry of Auditing and Control of the Republic of Cuba
II	Brussels, Belgium	September 1956	Court of Audit of Belgium
III	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	May 1959	Tribunal de Contas da União
IV	Vienna, Austria	May 1962	Court of Audit of the Republic of Austria
V	Jerusalem, Israel	June 1965	State Comptroller's Office of Israel
VI	Tokyo, Japan	May 1968	Board of Audit of Japan
VII	Montreal, Canada	September 1971	Office of the Auditor General of Canada
VIII	Madrid, Spain	May 1974	Tribunal de Cuentas
IX	Lima, Peru	October 1977	Contraloría General de la República del Perú
X	Nairobi, Kenya	June 1980	Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General of Kenya
XI	Manila, Philippines	April 1983	Philippine Commission on Audit
XII	Sydney, Australia	April 1986	Australian National Audit Office
XIII	Berlin, Germany	June 1989	Bundesrechnungshof
XIV	Washington, D.C., U.S.	October 1992	Government Accountability Office
XV	Cairo, Egypt	September - October 1995	Central Auditing Organization of Egypt
XVI	Montevideo, Uruguay	November 1998	Contraloría General de la República del Uruguay
XVII	Seoul, South Korea	October 2001	Board of Audit and Inspection of Korea
XVIII	Budapest, Hungary	October 2004	Hungarian State Audit Office
XIX	Mexico City, Mexico	November 2007	Contraloría General de la República de Mexico	https://web.archive.org/web/20081007173620/http://www.incosai2007.org.mx/
XX	Johannesburg, South Africa	November 2010	Auditor-General of South Africa	http://www.incosai.co.za/en/
XXI	Beijing, PR China	October 2013	National Audit Office of the People's Republic of China
XXII	Abu Dhabi, UAE	December 2016	State Audit Institution of United Arab Emirates	http://www.incosai2016.ae
XXIII	Moscow, Russia	September 2019	Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation	https://incosai2019.ru/en

Memberships[edit]

The following supreme audit institution are members of INTOSAI:^[9]

Full Members[edit]

 Algeria: Cour des Comptes

 Andorra: Tribunal de Comptes

 Angola: Tribunal de Contas de Angola

 Argentina: Auditoría General de la Nación

 Armenia: Chamber of Audit

 Australia: Australian National Audit Office

 Austria: Rechnungshof

 Azerbaijan: Chamber of Accounts

 Bahamas: Office of the Auditor General

 Bahrain: National Audit Office

 Bangladesh: Comptroller and Auditor General

 Barbados: Auditor General's Office

 Belarus: State Control Committee

 Belgium: Court of Audit of Belgium

 Belize: The Office of the Auditor General

 Benin: Chambre des Comptes de la Cour Suprême

 Bhutan: Royal Audit Authority

 Bolivia: Contraloría General del Estado

 Botswana: Office of the Auditor General

 Brazil: Tribunal de Contas da União

 Bulgaria: Chamber of Audit

 Cape Verde: Tribunal de Contas

 Cambodia: National Audit Authority of Cambodia

 Canada: Auditor General of Canada

 Central African Republic: Inspection Général d’État

 Chile: Comptroller General of Chile

 China: National Audit Office

 Colombia: Contraloria General de la República

 Comoros: Cour Suprême – Section des Comptes des Comores

 Costa Rica: Contraloria General de la República

 Ivory Coast: Cour des Comptes de Côte d'Ivoire

 Croatia: Drzavni Ured za Reviziju

 Cuba: Contraloría General de la República de Cuba

 Cyprus: Audit Office of the Republic

 Czech Republic: Supreme Audit Office

 Denmark: Rigsrevisionen

 Djibouti: Cour des Comptes

 Dominica: Audit Department

 Dominican Republic: Cámara de Cuentas de la República Dominicana

 Egypt: Central Auditing Organization

 Eritrea: Office of the Auditor General

 Fiji: Office of the Auditor General

 Finland: National Audit Office of Finland

 France: Court of Audit

 Gabon: Cour des Comptes

 Gambia: National Audit Office

 Ghana: Ghana Audit Service

 Germany: Bundesrechnungshof

 Georgia: State Audit Office of Georgia

 Greece: Court of Audit

 Grenada: Audit Department

 Guatemala: Contraloría General de Cuentas

 Guinea: Cour des Comptes

 Guinea-Bissau: Tribunal de Contas

 Guyana: The Audit Office of Guyana

 Haiti: Cour Supérieure CCA

 Honduras: Tribunal Superior de Cuentas

 Hungary: Allami Számvevöszék

 Iceland: Rikisendurskodun

 India: Comptroller and Auditor General of India

 Indonesia: Audit Board of Indonesia

 Iran: Supreme Audit Court

 Iraq: Federal Board of Supreme Audit

 Ireland: Comptroller and Auditor General

 Israel: State Comptroller's Office

 Italy: Court of Audit

 Jamaica: Audit Department

 Japan: Board of Audit

 Jordan: Audit Bureau of Jordan

 Kazakhstan: Accounts Committee

 Kenya: Kenya National Audit Office

 Kiribati: Kiribati National Audit Office

 Kosovo: National Audit Office of Kosovo

 Kuwait: State Audit Bureau

 Kyrgyzstan: The Accounts Chamber of the Kyrgyz Republic

 Laos: State Audit Organization

 Latvia: Latvijas Republikas Valsts kontrole

 Lebanon: Cour des Comptes

 Lesotho: Office of the Auditor General

 Liberia: General Auditing Commission

 Libya: Libyan Audit Bureau

 Liechtenstein: Finanzkontrolle des Fürstentums Liechtenstein

 Lithuania: Valstybės kontrolė

 Luxembourg: Cour des Comptes

 Madagascar: Cour des Comptes

 Malawi: National Audit Office

 Malaysia: National Audit Department

 Maldives: Auditor General's Office

 Mali: Contrôle Général des Services Publics

 Malta: National Audit Office

 Marshall Islands: Office of the Auditor General

 Mauritania: Cour des Comptes de la République Islamique de Mauritanie

 Mauritius: National Audit Office

 Mexico: Superior Auditor of the Federation

 Federated States of Micronesia: Office of the Public Auditor

 Moldova: Curtea de Conturi

 Monaco: Commission Supérieure des Comptes

 Mongolia: Mongolian National Audit Office

 Montenegro: State Audit Institution of Montenegro

 Morocco: Cour des Comptes

 Mozambique: Tribunal Administrativo

 Myanmar: Office of the Auditor General

 Namibia: Office of the Auditor-General

 Nauru: Department of Audit

 Nepal: Office of the Auditor General

 Netherlands: Court of Audit

 New Zealand: Office of the Auditor-General

 Nicaragua: Consejo Superior de la Contraloría General

 Niger: Cour des comptes

 Nigeria: Office of the Auditor General for the Federation

 North Macedonia: Drzaven zavod za revizija

 Norway: Office of the Auditor General of Norway

 Oman: State Audit Institution

 Pakistan: Auditor General of Pakistan

 Palau: Office of the Public Auditor

 Palestine: State Audit and Administrative Control Bureau

 Panama: Contraloría General de la República de Panamá

 Papua New Guinea: Auditor General's Office

 Paraguay: Contraloría General de la República

 Peru: Contraloria General de la República

 Philippines: Commission on Audit of the Philippines

 Poland: Supreme Audit Office

 Portugal: Court of Auditors

 Qatar: State Audit Bureau

 Republic of the Congo: Cour des Comptes et de Discipline Budgétaire

 Romania: Court of Audit

 Russia: Accounts Chamber of Russia

 Rwanda: Office of the Auditor General

 Saint Kitts and Nevis: The Audit Office

 Saint Lucia: Office of the Director of Audit

 Samoa: Samoa Audit Office

 São Tomé and Príncipe: Tribunal de Contas

 Saudi Arabia: General Court of Audit

 Senegal: Cour des Comptes

 Serbia: Drzavna revizorska institucija

 Seychelles: The Audit Department

 Sierra Leone: Audit Service Sierra Leone

 Singapore: Auditor General's Office

 Slovakia: Najvyšši kontrolný úrad Slovenskej republiky

 Slovenia: Court of Audit of Slovenia

 Solomon Islands: Office of the Auditor General

 Somalia: Office of the Auditor General

 South Africa: Auditor-General of South Africa

 Republic of Korea: Board of Audit and Inspection

 South Sudan: National Audit Chamber

 Spain: Court of Auditors

 Sri Lanka: National Audit Office

 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines: Audit Office

 Sudan: National Audit Chamber

 Suriname: Rekenkamer van Suriname

 Sweden: Swedish National Audit Office

 Switzerland: Eidgenössische Finanzkontrolle

 Syria: The Central Organization of Financial Control

 Taiwan: Control Yuan

 Tajikistan: Accounts Chamber of the Republic of Tajikistan

 Tanzania: National Audit Office

 Thailand: State Audit Office of the Kingdom of Thailand

 Timor-Leste: Tribunal de Recurso

 Togo: La Cour des Comptes

 Tonga: Audit Department

 Trinidad and Tobago: Auditor General's Department

 Tunisia: Cour des Comptes

 Turkey: Court of Accounts

 Tuvalu: Office of the Auditor General

 Uganda: Office of the Auditor General

 Ukraine: Accounting Chamber

 United Arab Emirates: State Audit Institution

 United Kingdom: National Audit Office

 United States: Government Accountability Office

 Uruguay: Tribunal de Cuentas de la República

 Vanuatu: Office of the Auditor General

 Vatican City: Officium Recognitoris Generalis

 Venezuela: Contraloría General de la República

 Vietnam: State Audit Office of Vietnam

 Yemen: Central Organization for Control and Auditing

 Zambia: Office of the Auditor General

 Zimbabwe: Office of the Auditor General

Supranational Organisations[edit]

•  Europe: European Court of Auditors

Associate Members[edit]

• Association des Institutions Supérieures de Contrôle Ayant en Commun l'usage du français (AISCCUF)
• Court of Audit of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA)
• Organization of SAIs of Portuguese Speaking Countries (OISC/CPLP)
• The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA)
• World Bank

See also[edit]

• Government performance auditing
• CGAP: Institute of Internal Auditors#Other certificates offered by the IIA
• INTOSAI Development Initiative
• Negative assurance and Positive assurance
• UNMAI

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• A draft framework of ISSAI standards: www.afrosai-e.org.za
• INTOSAI Marks 50 Years International Journal of Government Auditing January 2003