SAI Leaders from Bangladesh, Bhutan, Mongolia, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, and the Philippines met on June 3-4 at the IDI-ADB SAI Leadership Forum in Manila to articulate their vision of sustainable performance audit practices. They shared reflections on performance auditing within their respective SAIs in a six-year outlook, discussing their aspirations, desired goals, and personal commitments to reach these goals. Not every day do you see such high-calibre commitment or so many auditors in one room plotting the future with such precision!

The forum saw intense and frank discussions and interaction between SAI leaders and their teams and amongst peers.

While each SAI leader expressed a vision which reflected their local context, the visions had a common thread of commitment to delivering value and benefits to the public by conducting highly regarded and recognised performance audits on relevant issues such as achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, managing climate change, implementing social programmes, ensuring food security. Furthermore, SAI leaders recognised performance audits as essential tools in the fight against corruption. The leaders succinctly captured their collective vision with the three Cs: Competent, Committed, and Cognizant. They also envisioned their SAIs as centres of performance auditing excellence and strong advocates for performance-driven governance.

The actions envisioned by SAI leaders to achieve their visions 2030 were tailored to fit their respective national contexts, yet they all aimed to be impactful, logical, and sequential. These actions ranged from strategically balancing different audit types in their annual and long-term planning to maximise impact to building a critical mass of performance auditors and ensuring a robust pipeline of skilled auditors dedicated to upholding the standards of excellence in performance auditing.

Stakeholder engagement was unanimously voted as the key to success, and SAI Philippines took the lead in setting the stage for vibrant discussions. With leaders from the other five SAIs in attendance, this stakeholder conversation included a broad spectrum of SAI Philippines stakeholders—members of parliament, representatives from key public entities, civil society organizations, and universities. This gathering was balanced with mutual respect with open and frank dialogue. It was an exchange of opportunities, particularly spotlighting new potential partnerships and stakeholder coalitions, especially between SAI Philippines and universities.

SAI leadership recognised that while the forum was enriching and motivating, it was time to convert vision into action.

Stay tuned! We shall be back with more updates about the educational workshops for sharpening the competencies of performance auditors and strategising for maximum impact.