77th Governing Board meeting in Vienna

On the heels of INTOSAI's 70^th anniversary celebrations, the INTOSAI Governing Board convened for its 77^th meeting on 21 November 2023. As on the day before, when INTOSAI commemorated 70 years of INTOSAI and the 60^th anniversary of the INTOSAI General Secretariat, the meeting was held in the premises of the Austrian Parliament. It was attended by 136 SAI representatives of 30 delegations and resulted in the adoption of 48 motions presented by the INTOSAI leadership and INTOSAI's bodies.

The 77^th Governing Board meeting also featured a roundtable of INTOSAI's Regional Organizations, which was facilitated by Helena Lindberg, Auditor General of the SAI Sweden, and revolved around the topic "Experiences of the Regional Organizations – emerging issues and partnership with INTOSAI" with a particular focus on SAI independence and opportunities to enhance knowledge sharing among the regions. The roundtable yielded insightful presentations and accounts by the panellists and was followed by the sharing of experiences and input by the audience.

Furthermore, the Governing Board took the following key decisions:

• Approval of the following themes of INCOSAI XXV:
  • Theme I "The role of SAIs in auditing the government activities and central banks during financial and economic crises" and
  • Theme II "Using artificial intelligence techniques in auditing"
• Approval of the SAI of the USA as Chair of Theme I and of the SAI of Egypt as Chair of Theme II
• Adoption of the proposal to submit the candidacy of the SAI Indonesia for hosting INCOSAI XXVI in 2028
• Approval of the INTOSAI Communication Strategy 2023–2028
• Adoption of the Network of INTOSAI Communication Officers (NICO)
• Adoption of the Strategic Development Plan 2023–2028
• Adoption of the revised ISSAI 140 – Quality Management for SAIs, to take effect from 1 January 2025
• Approval of six documents elaborated under the quality assurance procedure for non-IFPP products
• Approval of the SAI of the United Kingdom and the SAI of Sweden to be chair and vice-chair of the Financial Audit and Accounting Subcommittee (FAAS)
• Approval the establishment of the Centre for Advanced Studies (CASt) in the framework of the Supervisory Committee on Emerging Issues (SCEI)
• Taking note of the initiative by the Capacity Building Committee (CBC), in collaboration with various INTOSAI bodies and Regional Organizations, to support SAIs in small island development states, and SAIs operating in complex and challenging contexts, to cope with the requirements of the INTOSAI Framework of Professional Pronouncements
• Approval of a review focused on an assessment of best practices among standard-setting bodies and a comparison to those used by INTOSAI