What does it take to build sustainable performance audit practices? Not a single reform. Not a learning course. Not even a successful audit.
It takes something closer to weaving a fabric – thread by thread, system by system, practice by practice.

That was the spirit of the IDI-ADB Initiative on Sustainable Performance Audit Practices in Asia and the Pacific (SPAP), whose journey concluded with a Leadership Forum in Manila bringing together leaders of six Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs), the Asian Development Bank, and the INTOSAI Development Initiative. The Forum was designed not as a ceremonial closure, but as a space to reflect, learn, and define how the positive changes will continue into the future.

Weaving Change

During the closing discussions, one image captured the essence of the initiative. Sustainable performance audit practices are not built through isolated areas or actions. They are woven together: audit methodologies, competencies required for auditors, strategic audit planning systems, quality management, audit follow-up processes, and stakeholder engagement.

Remove one thread, and the fabric weakens.
Strengthen them together, and systems become resilient.

Over the past three years, this is exactly what the initiative attempted to do:  build systems rather than stand-alone interventions.
As one SAI leader observed: “It was difficult to choose just one successful area – they were all interconnected. We moved well beyond business as usual”.

A Change in Mindset

Beyond new systems and processes, the Forum discussions revealed something deeper: a shift in the way SAIs think about performance auditing. Leaders spoke about seeing stakeholders differently, thinking about audit impact throughout the audit cycle, and strengthening the strategic role of performance auditing in the eyes of their stakeholders.

As one leader noted: “Strategic audit planning became the key to impactful audits”. Others highlighted how the initiative helped reposition performance auditing within their audit work. It was also appreciated how the initiative strengthened professional foundations: “We understood the value of a tailored competency framework for performance auditors as the basis for recruitment and professional development. We also began hiring performance auditors with multidisciplinary backgrounds, not only accountants.”

Participants also observed that improvements in performance auditing often rippled into other areas: “Changes in the way we plan and carry out performance audits are already influencing how we approach other audit streams”.

Looking Ahead

At the same time, the discussions also looked ahead. Rapid advances in technology and artificial intelligence, new expectations around sustainability reporting, and growing demands for transparency will increasingly shape the work of performance auditors. Ensuring that audit practices continue to evolve and remain relevant will be the next chapter of the journey.

The Manila Forum ended not with conclusions, but with commitments. SAI leaders articulated concrete actions to sustain the changes already underway – further strengthening systems and adapting them to emerging issues and ensuring that knowledge and approaches developed in performance auditing spread across other audit streams.

If the SPAP Initiative demonstrated one thing clearly, it is that sustainable audit practices do not emerge all at once.
They require attention across all areas of an SAI’s work and develop gradually, through collaboration, hard work, and leadership.

IDI expresses its sincere appreciation to the participating SAIs and to the Asian Development Bank for their commitment, partnership and trust throughout this journey.