This was one of the two main themes of the XXIV International Congress of Supreme Audit Institutions (INCOSAI): Global voice, global result, far-reaching impact. The debate took place on the afternoon of 11/10, led by the president of the TCU, Minister Bruno Dantas. The deputy director of governance of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Janos Bertok, the director general of the INTOSAI Development Initiative (IDI), Einar Gorissen, and the director of Financial Management of the World Bank, Robert Saum, took part in the discussion.

“INTOSAI's global voice is about creating a chorus of voices, rooted in the work carried out within each country, which projects the important role that supreme audit institutions institutions have in facing regional and global problems”, said Dantas.

International collaboration

The minister mentioned some initiatives taken to integrate INTOSAI and strengthen the voice of the SAIs in the global space of external control, work carried out by the countries that preceded Brazil at the head of the organization. “The performance of the presidents who preceded me and of the General Secretariat of INTOSAI, under the command of SAI Austria, working tirelessly together with the United Nations, was fundamental in recognizing the indispensable role of the SAIs in the efficient, transparent and responsible implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”, he recalled.

One of the examples cited was INTOSAI's collaboration with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), guardian of the United Nations Convention against Corruption, to strengthen cooperation on the topic, led by the United Arab Emirates.  

In July 2019, a memorandum of understanding was signed between UNODC and INTOSAI, to encourage greater engagement of SAIs in the implementation of the United Nations Convention against Corruption. In December of the same year, the Conference of States Parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption adopted a resolution to improve collaboration between the supreme audit institutions and anti-corruption bodies to prevent and combat corruption more effectively. The resolution is referred to as Abu Dhabi Declaration.

“Reflecting on the benefits and outcomes already achieved by international cooperation allows us to project advantages that we can all gain from the strengthening of actions aimed at amplifying and echoing the global voice of the SAIs. For this, it will be necessary to expand and strengthen the processes, already in progress, of coordinating actions aimed at generating, collecting and systematizing information on relevant issues”, highlighted Bruno Dantas.

INTOSAI's global voice in the vision of international organizations

“The OECD is a platform for dialogue that brings together not only governments or supreme audit institutions, but all stakeholders of society. We offer our expertise in order to bring together the perspective of internal and external audits, and the responsible institutions, for a technical and professional debate that helps in a better understanding, with more resilience, to face crisis situations.”. Janos Bertok, deputy director of governance of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

“It is quite timely that INTOSAI is concerned about its global voice. Today, with social media and widespread access to phones and other equipment, the number of people who have a voice has grown dramatically. At the same time, there are millions of people, poor, women and children, and others, who have no voice. INTOSAI and SAIs have a voice: reports, queries, media, and many other sources. Its stakeholders expect INTOSAI and SAIs to use their voice wisely. Throughout this work, INTOSAI can provide an independent voice for those who have no voice”. Robert Saum, director of Financial Management of the World Bank

“Global voice is an especially important concept because we live in an increasingly divided and challenging world. We need to be initiative-taking and take the first step as a community, look for new stakeholders and find ways to communicate. One of the best ways to amplify our voice and be heard is to speak with a single voice. As a community, we need to strengthen our coordination and communication at the global level. We need to align our understandings, purposes and efforts”. Einar Gorissen, director general of the INTOSAI Development Initiative (IDI)