Have you been keenly following the Auditor General’s reports? Find out how independent the Zimbabwe Auditor General’s Office is and how it compares to similar institutions in the region and world over take a look at the World Bank’s 2021 report on the independence of audit institutions.
Executive Summary
The results from a World Bank assessment of 118 countries show that much needs to be done to meet the aspirations of the 1977 Lima Declaration on the independence of Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs). The SAIs play a pivotal role in promoting good governance, transparency, and accountability. They also contribute to monitoring the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
This report aims to inform and better equip World Bank task teams and development partners to support the strengthening of SAIs in client countries. It also aims to help focus the ongoing collaboration between the International Organisation of Supreme Audit Institution (INTOSAI) and development agencies to address the intractable SAI independence issue.
The report also responds to yearnings of several development partners to better understand the degree of SAI independence in countries and regions. Independence is a critical foundation for the effective functioning of the SAI. Truly independent SAIs can fulfill their mandate to reduce waste and the abuse of public resources so public resources can be better channeled for programs that fight poverty, which is a focus of the international development community and the core mission of the World Bank Group.
The Independence of Supreme Audit Institutions (InSAI) assessment, which was used in this report, was developed by a team of SAI experts at the World Bank to measure SAI independence on an annual basis. InSAI includes 10 indicators of SAI independence that are based on international standards and practices, including legal, financial, mandate, coverage, and operational dimensions. For each indicator, a rating of 1 was given to SAIs for fully meeting the criteria, 0.5 for partially meeting the criteria, and 0 for not meeting the criteria. An overall score of 10 means that the SAI fully met all independence criteria.
Read the full report here (12MB PDF)
Source: World Bank
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