Lead authors: Renzo Lavin & Carolina Cornejo (ACIJ)
- Module 02
- Dissemination of Audit Results to Different Stakeholders
Dissemination of Audit Results to Different Stakeholders
Who is the Audience?
The audience of SAI work goes beyond the audited entity. Ensuring corrective action upon audit findings and recommendations implies targeting a wide audience and identifying the opportunities that can result from SAIs´ reports to partner their strategies and increase effectiveness.
| AUDIENCE | USE OF AUDIT REPORTS | GOOD EXPERIENCES |
| Parliamentary commissions |
This audience includes Public Accounts Committees and specific commissions regarding the fields of oversight (education, environment, agriculture, etc.). All of them can use reports to ensure corrective action by the executive and promote bills to improve management on the subject being audited. In some countries, these committees can even suggest audit topics to the SAI. |
Slovenia Malta Canada |
| CSOs and citizens |
They can get involved in monitoring entities´ adequacy to audit recommendations and get involved in joint exercises to enhance the impact of SAI work. |
Colombia |
| Universities and research centers |
They can build upon information from audit reports to enrich their studies and contribute to designing public policies in the fields subject to audit. They can also track government agency responses to instances of financial misconduct and corruption identified in SAI reports. |
South Africa |
| Other oversight entities and anticorruption agencies |
They can use SAI information to enrich procurement investigations and avoid overlapping efforts from supervising agencies and public officials, thereby providing an opportunity for joint initiatives. |
Paraguay |
| Media |
Members of the media can replicate information on audit findings, expand SAIs’ outreach, and provide evidence for further investigation, which can eventually trigger audits or be included in current exercises. |
Argentina |
| Government officials |
Information on audit findings can also be of particular interest to government agencies and officials beyond the auditee. Reports can offer valuable information to managers at different government levels who may have to deal with units and departments that have been audited; those managers can provide technical assistance based on recommendations put forward by the SAI. Similarly, when such observations are common to most agencies of the administration, that information can be used to help enhance compliance and performance of government operations and avoid typical shortcomings. |
Germany |
Good Practices
|
Slovenia |
The Court of Audit of Slovenia submits its reports to the Parliamentary Commission for Public Finance Control—a parliamentary committee headed by members of opposition deputy groups—and provides recommendations and guidelines on how to communicate with auditees. Also, the president of the SAI advises the chair of this commission about which reports should be discussed within the commission. The chair can propose to go over individual reports at the National Assembly and prepare draft decisions for adoption by this body. It is also important to note that the SAI is obliged to include in its work plan five proposals from Parliament, two of which would be from opposition deputies and two from the Parliamentary Committees. |
|
Malta |
In Malta, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) can request an audit, investigation, or other review from the National Audit Office (NAO), but such requests have to be made by at least three of the seven members of the committee and are not binding to the NAO. Because PAC meetings are open to the media and the general public, the SAI usually prepares a list of questions and then identifies the recommendations made by the PAC to subsequently follow up on progress by the ministry concerned. In addition, transcripts of these meetings are made and delivered to the NAO. See more here. |
|
Canada |
In Canada, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and other standing commissions are provided with summary information of each of the audit reports and chapters that fall within the committee’s purview immediately after SAI reports are made public. These committees hold hearings on audit report chapters, and representatives from the Office of the Audit General attend most of those meetings. These interactions provide important links between the PAC, the OAG, and departmental committees that ensure the flow of information from departments to the SAI and generate pressure for the response to audit findings in the relevant departments. |
|
Colombia |
The Comptroller General of Colombia coordinates joint audits with civil society organizations that include participation in audit planning and execution. Once the report is released, the auditee must present an Improvement Plan to the SAI, an instance in which CSOs can take part so as to follow up on compliance with audit’s recommendations. See more here. |
|
South Africa |
The Public Service Accountability Monitor (PSAM)—a research and advocacy organization that forms part of the School of Journalism and Media Studies at Rhodes University—works closely with the national legislature. Together, they track government agency responses to instances of financial misconduct and corruption identified by the Auditor General so as to pressure governments to take corrective action. PSAM (a) publicizes audit findings in press releases and on radio talk shows, (p) publishes a scorecard measuring the comparative compliance of various provincial agencies with public finance law, and (c) organizes public campaigns highlighting the large number of audit disclaimers issued by provincial audit entities—all of which has led to stronger financial management practices in provincial government agencies. See more here |
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Paraguay |
In Paraguay, the Comptroller General, together with an advocacy NGO, launched the program Civic Inspectors for Integrity,an initiative aimed at promoting commitment of citizens in the public administration’s transparency processes. The civic inspector acted as a link between the SAI, the Attorney General, and the judiciary to follow up on the files of crimes against the state’s patrimony, which the Comptroller General turned over to the Attorney General and that had been investigated. The initiative contributed to ensuring public access to the information related to how corruption reports are handled and to the dissemination of the results of corruption cases that had been judged. See more here. |
|
Argentina |
The Association of the Personnel of Oversight Organisms in Argentina (APOC) promotes initiatives aimed at increasing audit impact and engaging citizens in SAI work by publishing audit findings in friendly formats, such as press briefings. See more here. |
|
Germany |
The German SAI produces many audit findings and recommendations that are of a generalizable nature beyond the individual case under audit. The president of the SAI traditionally serves as a Federal Performance Commissioner, and in this role he puts forward proposals, reports, or opinions to enhance the efficiency of federal government departments and agencies. In 2013, the SAI published good practice examples derived from the institution´s audits so that they can be used by federal managers. This was initially done on a case-by-case basis and draws on audit findings of a cross-cutting nature. This step-by-step approach resulted in the compilation of a structured collection of good practice items and principles, which aim to provide quick and concise information on specific topics. See more here |
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