3rd Webinar of the SCEI COVID-19 Expert Group on Inclusion

  Summary (english)

  Video (english)

About 145 representatives from SAIs around the world took part in the third virtual meeting held by the Expert Group of the INTOSAI Supervisory Committee on Emerging Issues (SCEI) on 17 September 2020.

The webinar, hosted by the Chair of INTOSAI, the SAI of the Russian Federation, and dedicated to the "Openness of SAIs and Ensuring Inclusiveness in Emergency Conditions", shed light on the following topics:

• the audit of transparency as well as the transparency of audits with reference to the three dimensions of open government:
  • open information
  • open data
  • open dialogue
• the measuring of transparency based on the way in which public authorities inform the public and the media about decision-making processes
• the notion of transparency as being a driver for the effectiveness of public spending
• the transparency of SAIs based on how they deliver information (via website, social and traditional media etc.)
• leaving no one behind – the contribution of SAIs to "building back better":
  • anchoring inclusion in the audit portfolio, the stakeholder engagement, the audit objectives, the audit recommendations and the audit impact
  • measures regarding the exacerbation of the precarious situation of already vulnerable groups due to COVID-19
• the audit activities of SAIs with regard to the COVID-19 measures (with examples of audits and recommendations by the SAIs of Brazil and the USA).

In this context, the "International Observatory" (https://observatorioefs.contraloria.gob.pe/eng/index.html) provides an overview of all COVID-19-related measures adopted by governments and SAIs around the world.

The Expert Group webinar was concluded by an analysis of the survey on the way in which SAIs informed their stakeholders about the national COVID-19 measures: