Title: Issues and Opportunities in Working with Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs)
1Issues and Opportunitiesin Working with
Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs)
- Latin American and the Caribbean Region
- May 3, 2006
2Regional Objectives
- To enhance SAI independence, capacity and impact.
- Through-
- 1) high level policy dialogue
- 2) innovative interactions
- 3) financing to build capacity and
- 4) leveraging the Banks portfolio.
3Regional Context and Opportunities
- Up to date analytical underpinnings of Country
Economic and Sector Work. - Country Assistance Strategies in the last four
years have increasingly contemplated
interventions to modernize public sector
institutions and strengthen governance.
4Regional Context and Opportunities
- Increases in Country Assistance through Budget
Support. - Greater reliance on Client Country Systems.
- Anti- Corruption Initiatives.
- Strategic External Partnerships and
Harmonization.
5What do the diagnostic say?
- In the last 4 years SAIs have done very well in
improving their statutory position. Independence,
audit scope and access has improved. - There has been some consistent efforts across the
region to improve Human Resources, through
recruitment, retention, qualification and
training however results on the ground have been
limited due to lack of budgetary resources. - The quality of Leadership, Strategy and Ownership
of reforms is varied - The areas most in need of modernization continue
to be in the areas of Governance, Audit
methodology, External Relations and timeliness,
monitoring and follow up of results.
6Some examples of recent interventions
- a) High level policy dialogue
- Peru- 2002/ 2003 strengthening of Congressional
Oversight, Increased Independence of SAI. - Peru-New Regulations Required to Implement and
Support the National Control Law. - Haiti-supporting the introduction of a new
decree, facilitating the reorganization of the
institution and implantation of capacity building
activities.
7Some examples of recent interventions
- a) High level policy dialogue
- Honduras- New SAI created in 2002.Crafting and
implementation of new organic law and regulations
based on INTOSAI standards. - Poverty Reduction Support Credit supported
execution of the first phase of the HR Strategy-
severance packages for unqualified staff,
retooling of professional staff, establishment of
vigilance committees. - Technical Assistance Loan is supporting the
second phase of the HR strategy- creation of a
new University curriculum for public accounting.
It is expected that not less than 70 of SAI
staff be certified as public auditors in the next
two years.
8Some examples of recent interventions
- b) Innovative interactions
- Ecuador- Memorandum of Understanding between
National Audit Office of Ecuador and World Bank
for contracting of private audit firms and for
oversight of quality.
9Some examples of recent interventions
- c) Financing to build capacity
- Trust Funds Institutional Development Grants Two
(2) under implementation and One (1)
satisfactorily completed. - Since 2001 we have been engaged with the Central
American and Caribbean Organization of Supreme
Fiscalization Entities (OCCEFS).
10Some examples of recent interventions
- c) Financing to build capacity
- In Argentina, beginning in 2004, the Bank has
partnered with the National Audit office, to
implement a grant of US 600,000 for the training
of professional accountants and the
implementation of Computer Assisted Auditing
techniques.
11Some examples of recent interventions
- d) Leveraging the Banks portfolio.
- Investment Operations In Brazil the Secretaria
Federal de Controle handles 100 of the audits of
bank- financed projects. - Borrower Country Systems and the Audit
Arrangements in place including in Mexico,
Brazil, Colombia, Peru. - Evolving practice has shown that for 2004, in
LCR, 25 of project audits conducted were
prepared by SAI. This percentage has
progressively increased since then, but we are
still below the Bank-wide average (45 in 2004).
12Major Challenges and obstacles to further
engagement
- a) Low enforcement of auditor findings.
- b) The lack of capacity to implement reform.
- C) Limited financial and personnel management
independence and insufficient resources for
effective public external audit.
13What we could do more of
- a) Systematic support for human recourse
development, by providing knowledge and learning
opportunities, including peer learning. - b) Foster the creation of multi-year Peer Review
Programs in conjunction with other development
partners. - C) Mobilize grants to help SAIs beef up their
non-staff resources, modernize their audit
methodologies and improve their external
relations and communication policies.