The Supreme Audit Office of Poland had the honour of hosting the 6th edition of the International Young EUROSAI (YES) Conference on 25-27 June 2024.
The concept behind these conferences is to highlight the perspective of young auditors of the European region. The event’s formula requires that the conference be organised and led by persons below 35 years of age – this is also the age limit for its participants. The idea of the conference originated in 2008 in Cracow, during the 7th EUROSAI Congress, on the initiative of NIK and the Norwegian Office of the Auditor General. Former editions of the conference took place in the following years: 2022 in Sweden, 2019 in Great Britain, 2017 in Estonia, 2015 in Israel and 2013 in the Netherlands.
The 6th edition of the event gathered 42 participants from 34 European countries. The conference motto was “YES to AI”. The issue of artificial intelligence (AI) has a significant impact on our life, changing the way of functioning in the global community. The conference aimed at exploring innovative solutions, strategies and practices related to the use of AI in auditors’ everyday work, as well as discussing ethical aspects of using that technology.
The first day of the Conference took place at NIK headquarters in Warsaw. The event was opened by Director General of NIK Jarosław Melnarowicz, in an exceptional way. The AI-generated avatar reflecting the Director’s look and voice welcomed the participants in person. That was a symbolic kick-off of the conference, showing how the technology can support but not replace human efforts and interactions.
During the event opening, a video was presented with a speech of the President of EUROSAI Governing Board Matanyahu Englman. The President of EUROSAI addressed the auditors gathered at NIK headquarters, underlining the significance of innovation and cooperation and thanked NIK President Marian Banaś for organising the event. The floor was also taken by Pamela Krzypkowska, Director of the Department of Research and Innovation at the Ministry of Digital Affairs who talked about the future of artificial intelligence and its role in the public sector. She also talked about legal regulations on AI, cyber-security, citizens’ rights and technological recommendations.
On the first day auditors from several European SAIs (Austria, Great Britain, Denmark, Israel, Spain, Slovenia, Norway, Latvia, Switzerland and Poland) gave their presentations. The Polish SAI representative discussed examples and prospects of using AI at NIK.
The addressed issues included: factors influencing the use of AI in auditing, the role of AI in increasing sustainable development, monitoring legal texts and public finance, the use of AI at the stage of audit planning and while auditing the financing of political parties. Also the issue of tortious liability related to AI was broached as well as the prospects of boosting auditors’ productivity thanks to AI. At the end of the day, the conference participants visited the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (lower house of the Polish Parliament).
The auditors spent the second and third days of the conference at NIK’s Training Centre in Goławice, near Warsaw, where they took part in the workshop run by representatives of the European Court of Auditors and the following Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs): of Czech Republic, Austria, Sweden, the Netherlands, Portugal, Macedonia, Great Britain and Poland. Another workshop, focusing on ethical aspects of using AI in environmental auditing was carried out by NIK representatives.
The conference ended with a formal dinner. NIK top management thanked the guests for coming in such large numbers and for their active participation in the event. NIK President in his speech emphasised how important is the role of young auditors and their contribution in developing strong, independent and modern SAIs.
