Independent, effective and credible Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) are an essential component of political systems and indispensable to democracy-building. To hold governments to account and add value to citizens, SAIs must be able to maintain independence from the bodies they audit. When SAI Independence is threatened, institutional oversight activities can be impaired, weakening a country’s integrity and accountability systems and increasing democratic backsliding. 

SAI Independence has deteriorated in recent years. SAIs are not able overcome threats to their independence alone and could benefit from broader collaboration with civil society organisations (CSOs). As strong actors in the accountability ecosystem, CSOs can help to safeguard and enhance SAI Independence and raise awareness of the challenges a SAI faces through influence and outreach. CSOs have the capacity to advocate for SAI Independence whenever a threat arises.

The resource kit provides key insights and resources for CSOs to support SAIs at the global, regional and national level. By using the kit, CSOs can learn about the importance of SAI Independence, understand existing SAI-CSO collaboration, and familiarise themselves with collaborative advocacy and assessment tools, such as the SAI Independence Rapid Advocacy Mechanism (SIRAM). In addition, users of the kit can learn about the kit’s scalable pilot initiatives that are already underway, including dialogues and workshops to enhance engagement and collaboration between SAIs and CSOs on-the-ground. 

Civil society organisations ensure greater transparency and accountability of public resources and play a significant role in enhancing checks and balances in democracies. As such, IDI is looking forward to strengthening partnerships between the SAI and CSO communities to ensure SAI Independence features strongly in the fight against corruption.