Features and Functions of Supreme Audit Institutions

Abstract

Supreme audit institutions are national
 agencies responsible for auditing government revenue and
 spending. Their legal mandates, reporting relationships, and
 effectiveness vary, reflecting different governance systems
 and government policies. But their primary purpose is to
 oversee the management of public funds and the quality and
 credibility of governments' reported financial data. In
 the past the World Bank and other donors often established
 parallel auditing systems for their projects, undermining
 developing countries' supreme audit institutions, on
 whose work they could not always rely. Equally problematic
 have been projects that encouraged performance auditing but
 ignored basic weaknesses in financial management. In recent
 years the Bank has tried to strengthen oversight agencies
 such as supreme audit institutions. This note is intended to
 help Bank staff appreciate the role and nature of these
 institutions, particularly in managing public spending,
 ensuring financial accountability, and strengthening public institutions.