The independence of Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) has been for many years a topical issue addressed at meetings of their representatives at the world and regional level. Still, some SAIs declare to experience or have experienced threats to their independence. At the VIII EUROSAI Congress, the delegates issued a statement on this issue.
The EUROSAI Statement reinforcing the independence of Supreme Audit Institutions recalls the two previously released documents of the International Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI). The first document is the Lima Declaration of Guidelines on Auditing Precepts of 1977, which sets out that an SAI, in order to fulfill its mandate in an objective and effective manner, must be independent of audited entities and protected against external influences. The other document is the Mexico Declaration on Supreme Audit Institutions Independence of 2007, which sets forth eight pillars of SAIs’ independence, such as, for example, freedom to choose audit issues and audit methods. By recalling the two said documents, the Heads of over forty European SAIs emphasise in their statement that the independence of public auditing is of vital importance for guaranteeing the transparency and integrity of public administration, thus strengthening public trust in government institutions. Simultaneously, they declare the full commitment of EUROSAI in reinforcing and supporting SAIs’ independence, as a key element of its strategy.
EUROSAI Statement reinforcing the independence of Supreme Audit Institutions
Mexico Declaration on SAI Independence
