INTOSAI Development Initiative

Supporting effective, accountable and inclusive Supreme Audit Institutions

The IDI held two webinars for SAI Innovations on 24th and 25th November.

The IDI held two webinars for SAI Innovations on 24th and 25th November.

Two hundred and fifty participants joined the webinars that set the scene for meaningful and open conversations on flexibility, agility and resilience of SAIs for staying relevant in the current circumstances.

The webinars are aimed at sparking interest and reflecting on what it takes – both at the organisational and individual staff level – to innovate in these challenging times. Speakers shared reflections on why innovations and being innovative is so crucial for SAIs and public sector in general and what role the SAI can have in supporting innovation. They reflected on innovation in different areas of an SAI’s work – from technological to social to methodological. Underlying these reflections is a firm belief that each SAI in the INTOSAI community has the potential to be innovative. Each SAI’s path would need to be fit-for-purpose and fit-for-context.

The webinars centred around a panel discussion moderated by Tytti Yli-Viikari, Auditor General, National Audit Office of Finland. The panellists were:

Piret Tõnurist, PhD, Project Manager, Lead on Systems Thinking and Anticipatory Innovation Governance, OECD’s Observatory of Public Sector Innovation

Taka Ariga, Chief Data Scientist, Director, Innovation Lab, US Government Accountability Office

Carla Motta, Designer, Federal Auditor, Innovation Lab - coLAB-i, Brazilian Court of Account

Aida Maria Talavera, Director in the Project Management Office of the Office of the Chairperson in the Commission on Audit of the Philippines

The next steps in the Innovative SAIs going F.A.R. journey are the Innovation Marketplace events.

In the Innovation Marketplace events SAIs and stakeholders will share the innovations that they have tried out and the lessons they have learned. Come and join us sharing your experiences, ways of doing (innovative) things and new ideas!

We have two Marketplace events scheduled for December:

Wednesday, 9th December 2020 | 15.00 CET

Harnessing the Power of Audits: Innovations in SAI-civil society cooperation and audit follow-up // International Budget Partnership

How can we strengthen stakeholder engagement and audit impact? This session will bring together SAIs and civil society actors to share innovations and lessons in oversight collaboration and audit follow-up. Speakers include representatives from the Office of the Auditor General of Nepal, the International Budget Partnership and the Asociación Civil por la Igualdad y la Justicia in Argentina.

Monday, 14th December 2020 | 15.00 CET

Rethinking the way we audit: experience in agile auditing // SAI Costa Rica

The new global context challenged us to rethink our way of auditing, and we found answers in the agile approach. This has allowed us to continue adding public value to our stakeholders and staying relevant. We have integrated into the audit process some principles, values, and tools that lead us to agile working cycles, for earlier and continuous delivery of executive reports, to trigger timely improvements by the auditees. Our main maxims are: change is welcome; focus on the simple and essential; empathic approach with the audited entity; collaborative work to get the products done; effective face-to-face communication; motivated individuals; and continuous attention to technical excellence in accordance with fundamental principles of the ISSAI 100.

We look forward to seeing you at these webinars!

Please register here by 8th December at 12.00 CET