On November 23, 2021, the 75th meeting of the INTOSAI Governing Board took place virtually, hosted by the Supreme Audit Institution (SAI) of Brazil, the Governing Board’s First Vice-Chair.
In his opening remarks, Governing Board Chair Aleksei Kudrin commended SAIs’ many innovations and achievements during the pandemic, including progress on the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), expanded use of digital auditing, increased openness and transparency, and enhanced efficiency and knowledge-sharing.
The meeting featured oral reports from the Governing Board’s Chair and First Vice-Chair; INTOSAI Secretary General Margit Kraker; Supervisory Committee on Emerging Issues (SCEI), chaired by SAI Russia; leaders of the four INTOSAI Goal Committees; and SAI United Arab Emirates, Chair of the INTOSAI Global Expert Group.
Written reports were also submitted by the seven INTOSAI regional organizations, INTOSAI Donor Cooperation, INTOSAI Development Initiative (IDI), and INTOSAI Journal.
The Governing Board approved numerous measures, including to:
- Create a task force within SCEI on Health and Social Care Audit, to improve SAI performance in auditing healthcare systems, social security, and social support.
- Hold a second International Scientific and Practical Conference in 2022, to be hosted by SAI Russia.
- Create a task force within the Policy, Finance and Administration Committee (PFAC) to update INTOSAI’s communication strategy and provide guidance on the use of websites and the INTOSAI brand, to be co-led by the INTOSAI General Secretariat and SAI Brazil.
- Admit SAI Uzbekistan as a full member of INTOSAI, and the SAI of the Northern Mariana Islands as an Affiliate Member.
- Present SAI Egypt to the Congress of INTOSAI (INCOSAI) XXIV as the Governing Board’s candidate to host INCOSAI XXV in 2025.
- Change the Professional Standards Committee’s (PSC) Terms of Reference to add the SAIs hosting the Forum for INTOSAI Professional Pronouncements (FIPP) Chair and Vice Chair, along with the PFAC and Capacity Building Committee (CBC) Chair and Vice Chair, to the PSC Steering Committee, with the aim of strengthening governance and awareness of the standard-setting process.
- Create an INTOSAI-wide award for excellence in capacity building in honor of Kimi Makwetu, former Auditor General of South Africa, to be awarded at the triennial Congress.
Participants also raised potential contingency plans for INCOSAI XXIV, currently scheduled to be held in November 2022 in Rio de Janeiro, given the ongoing pandemic. If COVID-19 continues to pose a risk to an in-person meeting, then the Congress could be postponed, or a shorter virtual Congress could be held at the scheduled time, with a longer in-person event planned for 2023. First Vice-Chair SAI Brazil will discuss options for hosting INCOSAI with the General Secretariat and make a decision in March 2022, in consultation with the Governing Board.
